IN THE BEGINNING

Six months after I had quit smoking and taken up running I was ready for my first race, a large 5K in Chicago that started immediately after the start of the Chicago Marathon. I was excited to be doing something like this. I had lost weight, quit smoking and started living a healthier lifestyle and this race was a treat to myself. I savored the ritual of pinning my number on and "carbo loading", things that were previously so foreign to me. I can still recall the first time I wrote "5 miles" in my training log and felt like I had slain a dragon. Five miles! Whew!

I had no idea how much my life would change on that chilly October morning. I only hope that I can convey to anyone who reads the following story a small portion of how magical the experience has been for me. On that October morning, there was a death and a birth. My negative, insecure self died on the streets of Chicago and in its place a dream was born!

Before the start of the 5K, I was standing at the ½ mile mark watching the marathoners run by. I was in complete awe of them. The look of determination and focus on their faces reminded me of warriors going off into battle. The crowd cheered wildly as they went by and there was a smattering of comments by spectators such as, "They must be insane." "I could NEVER do that.", etc. At that point, I made a vow that I would one day join their ranks. I checked out the U.S. marathon calendar and picked the Sunburst Marathon (June, 1992) in South Bend, Indiana as my race.

Read the rest of the first marathon story......