Inspirational Morning!

This morning, I drove out in the pouring rain, into Boston. After making several circles around the Longwood medical area, I finally found the Jimmy Fund Way, and slipped into the windy underground parking garage. Each parking space was labeled, "For Patients Only". I checked my invitation, which said to park in the patient area, found a free space, and then wandered up to the third floor. There was a certain reality that set in when I saw the word "Patient".

The welcome area was filled with smiley people, and I could see a small circle formed around a familiar face - it was Jack Fultz, marathon winner from 1976 - our coach! I wandered past the small crowd and began to talk to the folks inside the meeting room. Everyone was excited, friendly and anxious to finally meet one another. "Is this your first marathon?", "What made you decide to do this?", "Which races have you ran?", "Do you want to start a running group Saturday mornings?", "Are you running for someone?", "How is the fundraising going?".... We all had questions, we all wanted to hear each other's stories, we all wanted to be supportive. And after about 20 minutes of milling around and chatting, our meeting began.

For two hours, we talked about everything from fundraising strategies to dietary concerns to favorite workout tunes. We talked about the efforts of Dana Farber, the faces behind the treatment and research, the history of the Marathon Challenge, and the steps that lay ahead. It was all exciting and overwhelming. In a blink, we posed for a final picture, and I then found myself back in the rain, driving home. But it wasn't the same now. It wasn't abstract. It wasn't just about 26.2 miles. There were now faces, and stories, and teamates. As I pulled back into my driveway, my mind was still racing, trying to process the last three hours. It was time to put thoughts into action - I felt invigorated - and I knew I was just beginning to scratch the surface.