Two years ago, I met Margaret at a kayak-run relay. Actually, I gave her a ride to the airport and she accompanied Todd Byers to Washington state to watch him participate in the Bare Buns Fun Run. A few months later, she began running and walking with AREC. I asked her 5 questions abou t how her “Running Experience” has changed her life.
No way! That ThomBob [relay] was the first structured event I had ever seen. How fun it was. I thought I might be able to do kayaking with some work, but it never occurred to me to run… or that I would ever run… or that I would enjoy running!
Hell, you still leave me in the dust! I don’t know that I was encouraged, but I was not discouraged either. I was having new experiences, and meanwhile, meeting really great folks! Oh, and drinking beer! Same stuff I am doing now. As for smoking, I did my first AREC run in mid October 2001 and stopped in January 2002. I can step up to a challenge! Todd [Byers] introduced me to the world of athletes! My admiration and respect for this subset of our culture made me think… and gave me courage. There wasn’t one thing that made me quit, but AREC encouraged me and distracted me when I needed it. And Todd was supportive and encouraging. Here I am, 1 year and 7 months without a cigarette! Yahoo! Yippee! Yippee!!!
I’m still not sure I can do a half marathon! I rather surprised myself when I committed to do Las Vegas.
I’m a silly little girl. I was rather giddy and I just felt proud of myself! Oh, and did I mention tired and sore? I’m still more proud of those four half marathon T-shirts than just about anything I have.
I don’t know that people look up to me, but I do think I’ve made it fun for a few folks. I still feel very strongly that AREC needs to make sure we have someone to walk with new folks if that’s what they want to do! Todd walked me through that first night… he even ran me a little, careful not to make it a bad experience, but a fun one. Then when Sam [Brooks] said he’d take lead on the walking group, I was seriously relieved, even though I wasn’t sure I’d ever be able to keep up with him… and he continues to bust my bottom, he walks so fast!! I cannot express how grateful I am that these two hung with me and MADE ME WORK!
Ha ha, very funny! Running barefoot, you are constantly aware of the fact that your feet HURT… or is it just that you expect they hurt… or is it really just a tender sensation… or is it… oh my, there’s the finish line! If you remember, the BBFR is all about “Bare Buns,” not breasts. Nothing hurt during that race or later, either!