Yesterday, my husband and I ran the Fitzgerald’s 1928 5K lager run in Glen Ridge, NJ. Yes, we are related. And maybe “ran” is stretching the truth just a wee bit—we did a great job of combining running and walking so we didn’t die. 

Neither Doug nor I are runners. We didn’t train for this event because we thought we would walk it so we could simply take part, but when the starting gun sounded, we ran. We were caught up in the moment and the other 1200 runners, I guess. The first mile was easy, relative to the last two. It got harder, hillier, hotter, and we were taking more intermittent breaks. But it’s Glen Ridge, so there were families all along the route cheering us on, spraying us with cool water, serving us water, playing music, giving us high fives—all so that we would be encouraged to finish. The winners don’t need cheering on as much as those of us at the back of the pack. It’s part of what kept me going. How can you stop when people are yelling, “Keep going, you got this!”

Today’s post is for you and me and maybe someone around us, like a work colleague or even our own children. Who needs to be cheered on? Who might be thinking about stopping, or quitting, even? Never underestimate the value of some encouragement! On one particularly long stretch of the race last night, near the end, there was one man clapping. I’m sure he thought, “Am I even helping anyone?” I looked over at him and, with the little breath I had left, said, “Thank you, I really needed that!” He beamed and continued to clap as I past by. If for one second, you don’t think it matters, I’m here to remind you that it does.

Let’s GO! WE GOT THIS!
BETH