I've interviewed dozens of runners with amazing stories of how running has changed their lives or how running their first marathon changed their lives. Brook encapsulates the struggles and celebrations that come with setting off on a journey in to the world of running like none other.
Another "Rock Star" of running happens to be one of my very own runners, Melani. I first met Melani about 2 years ago when she joined one of my beginning running groups. Just recently she completed her first marathon, the Raleigh Rock-n-Roll. I'm so proud of her accomplishments as I am of all my runners tackling the daunting and scary task of running a first marathon.
The running powers that be saw fit to bring these two awesome ladies together. Brook has featured, Melani on her blog. Check out her story and Brook's interview of Melani below.
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Melani Pratt (2nd from right) – Greensboro, NC |
Some people are born with athletic prowess. You know what
I’m talking about. Runners who run with such ease you suspect they may have
popped out of the womb with running shoes strapped to their feet.
Let me be clear about something: Genetics did NOT deal me
that hand. I am not that person. In fact, I didn’t even START running
until I was almost 39 years old.
What genetics did hand me was a super-sized chest. (Read: I
always imagined walking into Victoria’s Secret, picking out something super
cute and then turning to the clerk and saying, “Um, excuse me ma’am… can you
check in the back to see if you have one 7 sizes bigger and with
industrial-strength elastic?”)
It’s ironic. More times than not, we want what we don’t
have… those without wish they could have… while those who have wish they did
not.
I clearly fell in the “wish-they-did-not” camp. And at 38, I
finally made the decision to “down-size”; simply aiming to bring some much
needed proportion to my 5 foot 2 inch frame.
After some healing and much soul searching, I decided to do
something I’d always secretly wanted to do but was too self-conscious to try.
I wanted to run.
At almost 39 years old, I joined a Beginner’s Running Group
led by a local runner known to most simply as “RunnerDude.” At that point, I
couldn’t run two consecutive minutes. No lie! The group met twice a
week and followed a run/walk format that had us running 30 minutes, (about the
distance of a 5k), by the end of the 12-week program.
At that point, I signed up for my first 5k. [Full
disclosure: I was so scared the morning of race day that I likely would have
bagged it had I not had someone driving me to the start line. And even then, I
gave serious thought to bolting in the opposite direction when the gun
sounded.] Even so, I finished my first 5k in 29:50. In hindsight, this was a
turning point for me. While I was certainly getting healthier… I was also
gaining confidence.
At the end of the Beginner’s program, I continued to run. I
joined an intermediate group of runners, (coached by the guy who led my
Beginner’s group), and eventually gained the ability to extend the length of my
runs and quicken my pace. Over the course of about a year, I participated in a
handful of 5k’s and knocked down my first half-marathon with a time of 2:03:42.
But it was only18 weeks ago, (at the age of 40!), that I
committed to running a marathon. And last week I did something I could never
have imagined just two short years ago.
I crossed the finish line after 26.2 miles. Right there
on the corner of exhausted and oh-hell-yea-I-just-did-that!
Was I blazing fast? Hell NO. Am I okay with that? Hell YES!
Because as runners, we know it’s about more than measuring
miles. It’s about ordinary people with extraordinary passion. It’s about
freedom, friendship and finding inner strength. Together, we are getting
healthier, gaining confidence and accomplishing goals that once seemed
impossible. It’s about getting stronger each and every day.
It’s about showing up in life and making a difference.
To continue Melani's story and Brook's interveiw of Melani, click here.
