Rise Up and Run Again

My name is Kim, and I am a runner. I'm not a fast runner, but I run with heart. I run with a reason, and often, I try to make it a reason outside of myself. 

In 2013, despite having a long run record of 6.2 miles, I committed to running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon with the American Brain Tumor Association. I trained for and finished the race in 6:27:12 and wanted to keep doing marathons.

On October 26, 2014, I ran over 21 miles of the 39th Marine Corps Marathon with the Ability Experience (formerly Push America) and had my first ever DNF -- Did Not Finish -- in a race. I was crushed. As I am writing this, fewer than 30 hours after a Marine told me I had no choice but to get on the straggler bus, I am still crushed. I cried in the airport this morning as I saw people wearing their medals and finisher gear as they headed home. My heart is still heavy, and I know it's going to take some time to heal. 

Yet I also know I have to rise up and run again.  That's why I started this blog.

When I signed up to run Chicago, I started a Tumblr page with the username "kimrunsamarathon" to connect with other runners and share my progress. I love the online community of runners and the support offered there. As I am recovering from my first DNF, much of my content will be cross-posted to Tumblr. I wanted, however, a different venue to have a "life" type of blog -- not just running things. Even though I am a runner, I am not hardcore enough to say that "running is life." My new blog title has the word "run" in it, but I like to think that the idea of rising up and running again, even if it's not literally running, will apply to other things in my life that I can chronicle here.