As I read the article, I became pretty emotional. My uncle, who is more like a brother to me, has been sober for a little over ten years. I knew the battles that he waged on a daily basis. It made sense that running could have a dramatic impact on an addict’s life. I myself knew the desperate feeling that constant anxiety could cause. Running, and the exhaustion that went with it, was the one thing that could push the anxiety out of my body and let my mind focus on the things that really mattered.
I began to think about how I could help people like the father and son featured in the article. I was so lucky to run for fun, rather than having my life depend on it. Many addicts enter rehab only when they’ve lost everything, including their jobs and money. Perhaps we could start a program to provide good running shoes and gear to these addicts, so that there would be one less reason why running couldn’t play a hand in changing their lives.
The second event happened the morning of the race. We got up early and walked to the hotel across the street to meet up with two of the other runners in our group. As we stood in the hotel lobby, a group of approximately 20 people gathered. Each person wore the same colored t-shirt. On the back, it had the name of the same man, who had served in the military. Under his name were the dates of his life, similar to a tombstone in a cemetery. Each person then had something different on their shirt under the dates. One said “My son.” Another said “My brother.” One said “My best friend.” And below that, all of the shirts said “Our Hero”. Each one of these people obviously had a bond with this young man, and had decided to show their love for him by running a marathon together.
Granted, my emotions were already all over the board. I was nervous that I hadn’t trained properly and wouldn’t be able to finish. But for the second time in less than 48 hours, I became emotional. At various times during the race, my mind wandered to this group. I began to empathize with them, imagining the pain they felt as a result of the man’s death, and how the pain from running probably made the other pain better for a brief time. I implicitly knew that running that race in honor of that young man had changed their lives.
As the race began, the feelings of excitement overwhelmed me. I was running with my best friend from law school, whom I’m embarrassed to say, I had only seen a handful of times since we graduated nine years earlier. My wife was out ahead of us. Despite her assertions to the contrary, she had trained hard for the race and I knew it was her goal to break four hours for the first time in five tries. I was excited because I knew she would achieve her goal. I was excited because I was running with one of my best friends who I rarely got to see. I was excited because anyone who isn’t excited at the start of a marathon must not have a pulse.
The crowd support was awesome. As I had done in previous races, I wore a Nebraska football shirt. Supporters picked me out of the crowd, yelling “Go Big Red” and “Go Huskers”. One gentleman, whom I saw at multiple locations throughout the race, was holding an Ohio State flag. The first time I saw him, he yelled “Go Huskers.” After that, every time he saw me, he would yell “I don’t even like Nebraska, but I’m cheering for you my man!”
As I ran, as I always did whenever I ran the Lincoln Half Marathon, I thought to myself that I would love for others to experience this feeling. Thousands of people, all trying to accomplish their goals. Even though they call it a race, very few of us compete against anyone or anything except our bodies and our minds. Everyone cheers for everyone else and the sense of accomplishment at the finish beams across each person’s face. I wanted more people to experience what I was feeling, especially those who were quick to tell me I was crazy or stupid when they found out I was training for a marathon.
Even though the race went poorly (I truly had not trained properly and had to walk approximately two miles toward the end), I was excited once we got to the airport that evening to fly back to Nebraska. I was overcome by a sense that I needed to help people be able to run a half or full marathon. Whether it was the addict struggling to get clean, the person whom grief or depression threatened to consume, or the flippant co-worker who didn’t understand the impact running can have on a person’s life, I wanted to help them find a reason to run.
I got out a pad and paper and began to take notes as we waited for our plane. I thought back to a stretch of the race that went through Georgetown. Standing on top of a mailbox, a man held up a sign so that every runner could clearly see it. The sign was bright orange, and on it he had written “5.4 Million People Found Reasons Not To Run Today”. And so things began to take shape in my mind on the flight home.
Every runner has a reason why he or she runs. Most of them are quite different. Some may seem trivial, while others are a matter of life and death. None of that matters—we are all Runners With A Reason.
And so our group was formed. Each runner would decide his or her reason for running—the thing that gets her up early in the morning to run in the cold or keeps him going that last mile. Once the reason is chosen, the runner would commit raising money on behalf of the reason or an organization related to the reason. The money raised would go to the non-profit organization related to the person’s reason, while a portion would go to our group. Our group would then use its money to eliminate the reasons why others don’t run. It could buy a pair of shoes for an addict that can’t afford them. It could start running clubs in schools and at after-school programs to get youth running. It could start programs that allow individuals with disabilities the opportunity to compete in a marathon. And it could get all of those people who say “I can’t even run a mile” or “Why would you do something that causes so much pain” to be overcome with emotion as they cross the finish line of their first race.
The 31st Annual Lincoln National Guard Half Marathon will be the debut of Runners With A Reason. 35 local runners have chosen their “reason” to run, and have raised in excess of $15,000 while they have trained. There are all kinds of “reasons” selected by our runners. The night before the race, we’ll all gather, together with our support groups of runners (and for many of us, our “reasons”) to eat pasta and hear each other’s stories.
On race day, we’ll all wear our bright gold shirts with the reason we run on the back. When you see one of us, ask us about our reason. And then, if you are running, think about what will get you through the last couple miles of your race. If you aren’t running, think about what means enough to you to get you to run the next time. After the race, let us know your reason at www.runnerswithareason.org or info@runnerswithareason.org. We’d love to hear from you. Have a great race!
-Britt Ehlers and all of the other Runners With A Reason