For the last 7 years Hope for the Warriors, a national
non-profit organization that supports the families of our fallen service
members and wounded service men and women and their families, has held Run for
the Warriors in Jacksonville NC. I ran for the first time 2 years ago. I was
just 3 months postpartum and had never run more than 3 miles, but decided to
run the 6 mile race so I could run with friends. I grew up an athlete but as an
overweight soccer goalie and first baseman in softball, running was hardly my
thing. Run for the Warriors was my first ever race and I made it to the finish
line propelled only by the man next to me, a wounded warrior with a prosthetic foot
running next to his own family.
I ran again last year, this time 22 weeks pregnant. Again, I
made it to the finish happy to be among my friends from Stroller Warriors and
honored to run alongside so many wounded warriors. At some point while they were announcing
overall and age group winners, they also announced the oldest and youngest
participants. Patrick was immediately impressed by the 4 year old who ran it
and at that point he decided that he would also run the 5k when he was four. He
also challenged my mom to run it with him!
So over the past year, Patrick and Nana have been training
for the 5k and finally got a chance to run it this past weekend. Even though
Patrick fell and skinned his knee in the first quarter mile, they pushed on and
finally crossed the finish line. I am so proud of them both. I am proud that
they kept going even after Patrick was hurt but I am especially proud that they
decided to do it in the first place. It was a first for both of them and
definitely out of their comfort zones. And I am also happy to announce they
have already started to plan for next year’s race.
If you are in Jacksonville, NC or desire to come to this
fine town, then I suggest you sign up for this race next year. If you check out
the Hope for Warriors site you may also find one close to you. Registration and
fundraising goes to a wonderful cause, which is near and dear to so many of my friends
and it is also a great family event.
Here’s the link to Hope for the Warriors- Hope for the Warriors
And here’s the link to the Jacksonville run information- Run for the Warriors
Turn around Tuesday
What inspired me was as we were walking up to the stadium and the national anthem started so everyone stopped to pay their respects. Right next to us was a group of high school students who were running in memory of Master Sergeant O'Shea. It definitely brought tears to my eyes, but also made me so proud that these young students were inspired to run in his memory. And Patrick inspired me too. Right after he fell he was running, but then I had to stop to tie my shoe and he sat on the curb. That's when Patrick saw his knee and that it was bleeding. He wouldn't run after that and I didn't have my cell phone so I knew his Mom and Dad were wondering what happened to us! Then they came and Patrick ran the rest of the way and finished the race. What a trooper!!
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