You Can Do Anything You Set Your Mind To

Submitted by Christine M. from Disability and Aging

Turning 50 was going to be a rough one. As it approached, I wanted to accomplish something completely out of my wheelhouse.

Over dinner one night with friends who also had milestone birthdays of 40 and 60 that same year, we concocted an outrageous plan to run a half marathon in September of that next milestone year.

Why not? How bad could it be? All of us had volunteered at the Covenant marathon several times and saw many different people of all ages, shapes and sizes cross that finish line!

The kicker was that none of us were runners…. ever.

We began our training in earnest in January of that year, outfitted with some pretty expensive running shoes and socks and a training guide we looked up on the internet.

I will spare you the boring and monotonous details of all the miles in the freezing cold, oppressive heat and occasional rain. We all put in the miles and vowed that all of us should run our own races and not wait for each other no matter what.

In September, all three of us lined up at 6:30 a.m. to begin the Great Smoky Mountain Half Marathon, 13.1 miles.

A 40-year-old, 50-year-old and a 60-year-old stayed together the entire course and slowly but surely made our way to the finish line.

It was a feeling like no other.

We all felt such joy with this accomplishment.

My takeaways:

You can do anything you set your mind to.

Surround yourself with good people and the rest is magic.

Buy the good shoes.

Try not to be upset when a 70-year-old and a pregnant mom pushing twins in a stroller passes you right before the finish line.