Out On The Trail Inspiration Was Found

We were working on our second lap around the lake and enjoying the flatness of the trail.  Up the gravel path we could see him running along in solitude.  Catching up on the week's happenings, Karen and I were about to intrude on his quiet with our conversation.

Life has a way of getting crazy, and there in the earthen sanctuary of the woods, we felt  ourselves recharging in the midst of our 7 mile run.  Karen and I were running our coach-prescribed marathon pace for two of the miles and began to quickly gain on the man ahead.  Approaching him, we found ourselves keeping the same pace.  I asked him if he was part of Bellingham Fit, the group Karen & I were in.  He said he was and conversation flowed easily between us.

Time had taken out it's crayon and colored his hair grey; his attitude had colored his smile big.  He asked us which pace group we were in and after telling him about our group, he insisted we were too fast for him.  Pointing out he was running with us and running well, we assured him our group has no set pace but rather just a desire to get faster.

He unfolded his story, giving us a glimpse into the man he was while we were running next to the man he had become.  Last year he joined Bellingham Fit for the first time and loved the 6 month training program he participated in.  The man told us at the start of last year's season he could barely walk around the lake once.  At the end of walking one 2.6 mile loop he would have to go home and nap.  And there he was now, running with us and running it well.

At the top of the hill we found ourselves parting ways;  Karen and I off to finish our marathon pace miles, and he slowed to catch his breath.  We were both touched by his story and found incredible inspiration in it.

One of the greatest joys of running is meeting other runners and hearing their stories.  Nothing inspires me more than to hear people, like this man, go from out of breath and out of shape to strong and healthy.  His determination to change his life did just that, and managed to inspire me along the way.