Runner's Never Quit
Hope. Fear. Dreams. Elation. Joy. I often feel like emotion controls me and I don't always try to hide it as you may know from reading this blog. It's a snippet of my life, my goals, my hopes, accomplishments and random ramblings often brought on by different emotions. I'll be the first to admit that I don't have a scheduled day I write or even a designated amount of posts. I want to share my life, my ups and downs, on my terms. I don't want it to feel forced.
In a way all these emotions are why I like to run and to race so much. Running can be a way to run off anger, run away from a fight, run to celebrate, to discover, and simply for the pure joy of it. It's physical, it's mental, and it is incredibly emotional. Just ask any marathoner. The entire race is an uphill battle with constantly changing emotions. It's empowering to be the one to overcome these emotions. To feel like you have control over something in your life.
I don't always feel in control of my future. A lot of it is based on decisions I make and some that others make for me. Employers, spouses, friends, they all come into account. Doors can open and close based on who you know. Opportunities come when you put yourself out there and exciting things can happen. But they can also lead to heartache, pain, or simply a feeling of not knowing. Running in a sense, gives me control of the unknown. It gives me a way to classify myself and to connect with others in an industry that I dream of one day making my full time job.
Running is a process, PR's can often take years, even decades to achieve. Just like that dream job, dream house, dream car. You can get sidelined, injured, or beaten by someone else faster, stronger, or better at running. The beauty of runners is that they don't quit even when they are down and out. You get back up the next day and start training again. Runners are resilient, powerful, strong, emotional, faithful and encouraging. I'm proud to call myself a runner. But even prouder to be a part of such a strong community. I have so many people supporting my dreams both small and large. The majority of these supporters are runners. They realize the power of a dream and are my biggest fans.
Yes, my dreams may be big and overall I want to work for Nike Running or Nike Women, working with their events and athletes, promoting the sport on a global level, but even smaller goals, like breaking 1:50 in the half marathon, running Hood to Coast for the second time, running the NYC Marathon, I know I have the support of runners everywhere. When everyone else questions why I love running, why I want to work for Nike and why I have worked so hard to get noticed by the company I love it's overall because of the sense of community. Runners, have given me an incredible amount of support and I owe them a debt of gratitude for constantly inspiring me to never give up. Because giving up would be easy. I thought I would be much closer to Portland, Nike and my goals by now, but the hard work will make my final victory that much sweeter. Because I refuse to give up. I won't give the doubters the pleasure of being right.
I will continue to run, to give encouragement and build my personal brand. But in the end, the support I have received in reaching towards my goals has made them all worth it, even if I were never to get that dream job (which I refuse to believe).
Runners don't quit. We learn lessons, we change our schedules, tweak our goals, but we always keep our eyes on the prize. Whether that be a Boston Qualifying time, dream job at Nike, or PR at your local 5k. Runners know how to work. Thank you to all of those who encourage me to never give up. You know who you are. Keep crushing it.