Do You Know a Running Hero?

You may not know it, but there are heroes all around us. They're not given medals. They're not recognized on the 6 o'clock news. And they're not rich and famous. But, they are heroic nonetheless.

These are ordinary people who overcome extraordinary obstacles—weight challenges, the death of a loved one, a chronic illness, the loss of a job, and/or mental or physical disabilities, just to name a few. Many of these people use running to help them overcome those life obstacles.

Over the past two years, I've featured over 40 examples of these everyday running heroes. These are some of the most inspirational and motivating people I have had the privilege to encounter.

There is Noah who lost over 60lbs to make sure he was setting a good example for his son and so he'd be around to see him grow up. There is Ann affectionately known as "Grannie Annie" who decided to take up running at age 50 and who now at age 67 has run over 70 marathons. There is Danica and her amazing story about her courageous mom's battle with cancer and how running helped Danica gain back some normalcy in her life after the passing of her mom. There is Mel who has an amazing 2nd-chance story of how she regained her life from mysterious seizures. And there is David who used running to help him deal with his sister’s cancer having come out of remission. These are just a few of the 40+ stories shared on the blog.

Recommend a Runner of the Week!
Do you know someone like Noah, Ann, or Mel who with an inspirational running story? If so, I'd love to hear it and share it with the thousands of runners all over the USA and the world who read RunnerDude's Blog. If you know of a great candidate for RunnerDude's Runner of the Week, please email me at runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com. Be sure to put "Runner of the Week" in the email's subject line.

The Warrior Within

American author Carlos Casteneda once said, “The basic difference between an ordinary man and a warrior is that a warrior takes everything as a challenge while an ordinary man takes everything either as a blessing or a curse.” Runners are warriors. Each time we step out the front door for a run we think of it as a challenge. A good challenge. Maybe the challenge will be to run faster, stronger, longer. Or maybe we’ll challenge ourselves to notice the beautiful scenery along the run. Or maybe we’ll challenge ourselves to solve that problem at work while on the run. Or maybe we’ll challenge ourselves to do absolutely nothing other than enjoy the run.

The challenge is what drew me to running. I was never a big team sports player, but I did love competition. Sounds odd, but I discovered, I loved competing with myself, striving to do better each run. Once I had the confidence to compete with myself, I realized there actually was a warrior within me. Once you realize this inner warrior exists, suddenly you’re more confident in many other areas of your life. I never thought in a million years, I’d be a personal trainer, much less the owner of my own studio. It was running that opened that door.

The many “RunnerDude’s Runner of the Week” stories I've posted on this blog are proof of how over and over running has reshaped the lives of so many individuals. It’s helped individuals grieve the loss of a loved one. For some it’s been the means of weight loss, lowering cholesterol, dealing with depression, getting off various medications, and/or no longer having adult onset diabetes. It’s helped parents become healthy role models for their children. It’s helped others strive to prove they can when many have told them that they can’t. All of these individuals are warriors. Running warriors.

Running. It’s amazing what just putting one foot in front of the other can do for a person. The doors it can open. The people it brings into your life. The opportunities it provides. The health benefits it sustains. What are you waiting for? Go run!

Share Your Story!

I would like to thank all the readers who have submitted their "How Running Has Changed My Life" stories. Each story no matter how similar or different has been a true inspiration to me and the hundreds of RunnerDude's Blog's readers all over the country, even the world! Those of you that have submitted a story, you will probably never know how much of an impact you've made nor the number of lives you've touched and inspired.

If you've missed some of the featured stories, just key-in "How Running Changed My Life" in the search box at the top right-hand corner of the blog and it will pull up the links to the various stories.

With your help, I'd like to keep this regular feature of the blog going for 2010. All you have to do is share with me how running has helped you overcome a life challenge or obstacle? Maybe you know a friend with a story. Encourage him/her to send it in!

How To Enter:

All you need to do is email your story along with an attached photo (jpeg format) and/or a YouTube video link of yourself (suitable for posting on the blog) to runnerdudeblog@yahoo.com with the subject line "My Story" by midnight (EST) Thursday, December 31. Each email that's received will be placed in a drawing for a chance to win one of two $50 RoadRunner Sports Gift Cards! That's right two different names will be drawn and each will receive a $50 gift card! Each email will be assigned a different number based on the order that the emails are received. The winning number will be selected by The True Random Number Generator on Friday, January 1, 2010. What a great way to start off the New Year!

This is simply a drawing for the participants. The stories will not be judged in any way. Each week a different story will be featured on the blog. I look forward to reading, celebrating, and sharing your stories with all of the RunnerDude's Blog readers and seeing the powerful impact they'll undoubtedly have.—RunnerDude