The Finish Line Is In Sight By Cathy Frye There is a finish line on the horizon! When you’re running a marathon, there is no feeling quite like the one you have just crossed the finish line. It can be exhilarating, exhausting, overwhelming, triumphant, humbling, confusing, or sad, depending on the day. But in every case, it is a memory to treasure. With running all the way through until April 5, I was fortunate to have several family members who were willing to let me bounce to the finish line a few times in my last few months of training. I have always had such a wonderful family and it made me realize how fortunate I am to have them all around me. You see, my husband Mike is currently participating in the Boston Marathon on April 17th with some of our good friends, Scott and Cindy! (For all his friends in the running world: he is currently in the top 25% of time for the men’s field! Woohoo! So proud of him.) The reason that it makes me so proud to have a husband in the Boston Marathon is not because I am a runner. It is because I am a mother. That day, while he and Scott are running the race, Cathy, Scott’s wife, will be sitting in the stands watching and crying with joy that Scott will have crossed the finish line, after running for 35+ years. That’s a mother’s definition of privilege and one of the reasons why I have always dreamed of someday running with my husband. My dad ran the Boston Marathon and so I thought that would be such an amazing day. Now we finally have that opportunity for me, one last time before I don’t run any longer. While I am still not racing, this will be the first of many times I will be able to cheer for my husband as he continues to train and run. I’ll see them for the next race, the New York City Marathon on November 7th, and after that for the Disney Marathon on March 1st. While I might not be able to run with them on race day anymore, I know we’ll both always have each other’s support through the ups and downs of training, all the way until we cross the finish line and can cheer them on. I am extremely proud of him for doing something so big, for his motivation, for his determination, for giving up sleep and sanity for months on end, and for making a family incredibly proud. Thank you, Mike. You are such an inspiration to me! Scott and Cathy before this week's trip to Disney World This is why I will be running until the day I die. I never thought I would do it, but all the good it does makes it all worth it! I’m so happy that my family, along with thousands of others, will be there for me to cheer me on on this last leg of my running journey. As for my husband, I still have many more races in my future. I’m running just a little faster now that he has inspired me to keep going. Now all I have to do is tell him that. We’ll see if I can reach my goal of telling him by April 5th. On a final note: if anyone needs someone to cheer them on, or if anyone is looking to cheer someone on, please contact me. I am ready for whatever marathon is next on the horizon. I look forward to cheering you all along the way! A new book came out this week: The Art of Running by Haruki Murakami. I’ve been hearing the title everywhere, on the radio, on the TV, and on the Internet. It’s a wonderful book, about the joy of running, that is sure to be good for runners of all levels. As I was reading it, I kept thinking that maybe I should write my own book, but I don’t think it would be a good idea to write a book unless I was a celebrity or had been famous for years. Then, to be honest, I thought that maybe I should just get a tattoo like Oprah. There must be some way to write a book that is a lot more fun than a tattoo. If I were to run a race, maybe a book could come out of that. But I’d rather have my legs, so I think that is out of the question. This summer has not been the same for me. With no running for over 6 months, I am definitely missing it. There is something about running. You can’t even begin to imagine what it feels like until you have been running a long distance. I feel like I have lost that. And if there’s one thing you have to realize, I’ve learned from my years of running, it’s that you can never lose something that you never had. To me, running is a life-long adventure. It has never been about getting to the finish line and becoming an accomplished marathoner, or even someone who runs a few times a week. I’ve made mistakes along the way, but the journey itself has been so rewarding. Now, if someone asks me what it feels like to run, I won’t be able to tell them because I have never experienced it. And that’s why I want to keep running for as long as I can. I guess there are other things that keep running fun. Running is never something you do to get to the end. It’s just not as long as you can keep going. I can always go farther than before because the next time I run will be harder. There are still plenty of hills in the Bay Area to keep me going. They make running fun when I think about how far and hard I’ve gone since my first runs on Alcatraz. I think the best part of running is that it gives me a reason to push the limits of my abilities, even with hills that can cause my thighs to burn like fire. Every time I run, I think I’ll be able to do something I’ve never done before, even if it’s painful, and that is what keeps running so fun. The fact that I can accomplish what I never thought I would, and every time I run, there is something exciting to look forward to about the next time I will go running, is what keeps running fun. Even if it is running in the cold or rain, it’s because of the running, not in spite of it. I would rather have cold rain over hot, sunny days. If you don’t think you’ll be able to enjoy running, try making it a goal to run in the rain. When you’re done with your run, you’ll be so glad you did. One of my favorite running photos. The one that’s always on the forefront of my mind is of me running up the hill on Alcatraz. Last night, I watched The Dark Knight Rises with a group of friends. While I thought it was an awesome movie, I wanted to go running while I was watching it. Then I realized that, in fact, I had more fun watching The Dark Knight Rises by myself and going for a run on the trails in the foggy morning. I’m just glad that I wasn’t still feeling sick from the beginning of my sickness, because I think I would have passed out right in front of the screen! So I’m happy to say that running is fun for me. It just comes in different ways and for different reasons. Sometimes I have to run for exercise, and other times it’s for the joy of seeing how far I can go and how strong I can be. That’s what running is all about. We have the rest of our lives to run the race that we choose, whether it’s just for exercise or for the purpose of seeing how far we can go. But we’ll never be done until the day we die. That’s how I live my life and that’s what makes running so fun. I’ll see you at the start line! And that is how I was going to say goodbye to running, with a run down the foggy trails, but I am just happy that I will still be able to cheer my husband on for his finish line for the Boston Marathon. As for me, I am looking forward to hitting the next mile marker in the race for runners and coming back again and again with joy, pain, and hope. It is my story, my journey, my joy of running. My love of running will live in me forever and always. Every time I turn around, I’m running in something.