I hardly have words at how amazing Rachelle is. I don’t know her in person but I can imagine she must motivate so many people in her own life. Good luck on your half marathon, Rachelle – I am rooting for you!

A woman hugging a little girl.

I love love your blog! It gets my family family of 8 (one darling China Doll, 5 rambunctious boys and one patient and loving hubby) fed many a night. I have loved reading the inspirational stories of other runners as well. I wouldn’t consider my story inspirational, but it has been a journey. It may be more like, “Hey if his lady can…. Maybe… I can” kind of story.

I have been training for my first Half Marathon this year as well. But this is no small feat for me. You see I have MS! I have been living with this disease for almost 15 years. I have been very blessed during that time because I have been able to stay fairly active.

But my journey of running a half marathon started 2 1/2 years ago when with a friend, I fearfully started CrossFit. When I first started I could barely run 400 meters. Yikes! But slowly with the help of my trainer I worked. Slowly but surly, I began to see progress. First running a 400 without walking then an 800.

A lady lifting a barbell of weights over her head.

I have had many ups and downs along the way, and dare I say my share of tears. Now I can do pull ups unassisted, climb a rope, dead lift, snatch, etc. I can do what ever the WOD (workout of the day) is. I may not lift as heavy as others or my workout will need to be modified a bit, but hey I’m doing it.

This past August I went to a small women’s meeting with my church. It was centered around being “incredible” and stretching yourself a little more. The speaker encouraged us to write down a few things we wanted to do that we might regret not doing before our life was over. Well, with MS life is not certain for me, so I wrote down to run a half marathon.

This past September I started. At first with one then two miles! By December I was doing four miles. I am now up to 10 miles and I am ready to conquer 11 on Monday! The feeling that I get at the end of a run is the most amazing feeling. It is like I am telling this stupid disease “take that MS!”

We all have our hills in life to climb. It is full of obstacles and challenges. What running has taught me so far is, keep your head up, enjoy the view, and take it one step at a time.

A lady hugging a little girl.