A Year Ago Today…

I did something that changed by life. I became a marathoner! Never in my wildest dreams did I ever think I would run a 5K, never mind 26.2 miles. However, when I saw that it was the 25th anniversary of the Disney Marathon, I just had to run it. It was hard, humbling, tiring, exhilarating and fun all at the same time. At mile 16 my IT band started to give me trouble. I began to panic. I had 10.2 miles left to go. What was I going to do? My good friends, Maria and Maura were tracking me. They noticed I had slowed down a bit. They, along with my friends Erin, Kim and my sister Jen, reached out to me. They encouraged me to keep going. They were with me every step of the way until the finish line. In fact, Erin met me in Epcot, right before I crossed that finish line.

I remember running around Epcot, passing all the countries and thinking I was really going to do this. All the training miles, early morning workouts, blisters, chafing, blood, sweat and tears were worth it. As I rounded the corner, heading toward Spaceship Earth, I heard the song “How Far I’ll Go” from the movie Moana. I lost it. I knew how far I would go to accomplish my goal and I did just that. Crossing that finish line was amazing. Though I have no desire to run a full any time soon, I will never forget the feeling of accomplishment. It is true what they say

“Everything you ever wanted to know about yourself you can learn in 26.2 miles. – Lori Culnane