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Saturday, April 13, 2013

Running Around

Today I crossed something off my bucket list!  I finished my first half marathon!  After competing in track and field for nearly ten years, you'd think that I'd love running.  This is a common misconception.  In case you didn't already know, I was a long and triple jumper throughout my college career.  My 30 meter approach to the sandpit was the extent of my running.  In fact the furthest I had ever run at one time prior to training for this race was about 3 miles.  My brother, being the wonderful brother he is, signed me up for the Rock the Parkway half marathon in Kansas City for his Christmas present to me.  At the time I was terrified but he was right- I needed a new goal!





It ended up being an awesome experience and I definitely plan on training harder for longer races.  One thing I learned is that the running community has a sense of humor.  People lined the streets to cheer on family members and friends with signs, bells and t-shirts.  Some of my favorite signs said things like "Worst Parade Ever" and "Chuck Norris never ran a half marathon".  It was so much fun to cross the finish line with hundreds of people cheering- and not because I won but simply because I did it!  I beat my goal of two hours and finished in a time of one hour, fifty-six minutes.  My brother and his girlfriend also ran personal bests.  It was a successful and memorable morning.







After I stretched, showered and refueled, I drove to Columbia for a couple of appearances.  I first went to MoJo's for a St. Baldrick's Fundraiser sponsored by Mizzou medical students.  They raised nearly $40,000 for kids with cancer by collecting donations as community members shaved their heads.  I mingled with kids, college students, physicians and parents and was so glad to have been a part of such a special event!



I ended the night at the annual Paintbrush Ball, a fundraiser for the local art museum in Columbia.  Toni, one of the board members of the Miss Columbia Scholarship Pageant is also a board member for the art museum and invited me to join her for the evening.  I was able to speak, dine and dance with many prominent members of the Columbia community- from school board members and doctors to lawyers and university professors.  It was an elegant ending to an exciting day!

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