#RunLikeKeith
Any of you who have known Keith for any amount of time know that Keith was an avid runner. He started running in high school and found that it was the best way for him to burn off steam and work through life. He had hoped to run a marathon in his lifetime, but never got the chance.
Any of you who have known me know that I do not share Keith’s opinion of running. We met somewhere in the middle by running the Color Run 5k a few years ago and I vowed to never do more than a 5k ever.
And yet, I find myself turning to running as the next step in my grief journey.
In September, I’ll be running the Navy-Air Force Half Marathon. 13.1 whole miles. On my feet.
I’m feeling all sorts of crazy, scared, nervous, anxious, and doubtful. But I know at the end of this journey I will have learned a lot about myself, worked through some of my grief, gotten a lot stronger and healthier, and chosen to trust God for the strength to do something I’m afraid of. There’s a voice inside my head that says I can’t do this. I’m determined to prove that voice wrong.
It’s taken some time to make this decision and it hasn’t been an easy one.
Once I decided to commit, a group of women agreed to pray for me through my journey and some even decided to run as well. I’m thankful for their accountability and companionship because there are mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging days ahead. I’m thankful for a friend who knows me well who is helping me to train safely and consistently and to prepare well and take care of my body.
I’m looking forward to the hours pushing a double jogging stroller because it means Caleb and Libby will see their mom being healthy and doing hard things.
I’m dreading the hours of running that will remind me of Keith’s absence.
Running the half marathon for the Air Force will be a humbling and emotional experience because of all the service has done for my family.
Ultimately, I’m hoping I can run to find freedom in my thoughts and a different way to stay strong and healthy. Since I’ll never be fast like Keith, I hope that in these ways I can learn to run like Keith.
Many of the women running along side me will be fighting their own fears, so we decided to chronicle our journeys with #RunLikeKeith on social media.
I would truly appreciate your prayers and encouragement and if anyone is crazy enough to want to run with us, please let me know!
So awesome you’re doing this!! The mental part can be harder than the physical part some days so I’ll be praying for your progress along the way! I’m excited to #RunLikeKeith with Dan & Gwynne in Mystic in May, and who knows, maybe make it down to DC in September as part of a cheer squad too 🙂
Awesome! Thank you!
Becky, you WILL do this! You will feel Keith running with you for sure – you will ache, you will hurt, you will sweat, you will be overcome with tremendous joy WHEN you finish that race and, boy, will you feel Keith’s arms around you when you do! God is certainly leading you in a very healthy, healing direction, as tough as this new challenge will be for you – but…………………..MY GOODNESS, GOOD FOR YOU!!! You betcha we will pray for you in this new journey of healing! xoxoxo
Thanks 🙂
Billy ran his NYC marathon 2 years ago and always says that running long distance really just comes down to training. As long as you consistently show up for the training runs and keep at it, it can be done. I’m happy to hear you’re taking on this tough challenge, Becky! I’ll be rooting for ya!
Thanks for being such a consistent friend 🙂
Will be cheering you on! I can not run the race but I would love to be there the day you run and watch the victory!
That’s so special. Thank you!
Good for you — that is amazing. I can’t even imagine running 2 miles! But it is good to get outside of our boxes and try different things. Hang in there.
Love, Linda Wright
Thanks, Linda!
The spirit is willing, but the body is weak…so, in Keith’s words, “I’ll do it in my head”!
Cheering you on – may God surprise you with His energy and love…Love you, J.
So proud of you. Even though I used to be a runner I always found it amusing and strange how dedicated to running Keith was. Lately I’ve also started training for a half, and woah, I am not 16 any more…or even 26… But the days it’s hard to run I remind myself that with each ridiculously slow jog God and I are healing my brain, flooding it with endorphins, easing anxiety, crawling away from depression. I’ll be thinking of you and praying for your journey!
I couldn’t agree more to all of the above! I hope your training goes well.