I am dedicating this post to my friend.  A friend who has been through far too many unfortunate circumstances.  A friend who was there to give me the nudge I needed in order to make the smallest of sacrifices for something greater than myself.   He once told me that my sacrifice of limiting my pizza and beer intake the night before a long run (yeah, not even a big deal in the larger scheme of things) was well worth the cause that I was running for.  And he understands this more than most because of his own connection to the cause.

One of the reasons why I started running again last year was to raise money for cancer research through the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  When I joined and started training, I never expected to meet such a great group of people.  People were there walking and running long distances in order to make a difference. Running became more than my own personal sanctuary.  I wasn’t just running for myself.  I think I sometimes lost sight of this and it became more of an inward movement.  Then something would happen or someone would share a story and I would once again be turned outward.

The next season for Team in Training is fast approaching.  Once again, I will be running so that others may live and I will be encouraging others to do the same.  Not only that, but we will be running to keep the memories alive for those who are no longer with us.  It isn’t easy to reach this depth during a run, but reflection tends to seep into our thoughts.  More often than not, I think about how lucky I am for what I have regardless of what challenges have presented themselves to me throughout my lifetime.

I run so that I may live.  I also run so that others may live.  When it is too late, all I have left to offer is the the promise that  I will run so that the memories of those not with us can be remembered.