There’s a whole hell of a lot to catch up on. To get an understanding of what this past weekend held, you can check out our previous blog post – Wenatcheee Marathon, Deception Pass ½ & the Boston Marathon oh my! But, to honor each athlete’s own journey, we’ll start you off with the first from the weekend – the Wenatchee Marathon, where we catch up with Kathryn Merrill.

Kathryn was seeking a foothold in her comeback to the marathon, post the fruits of Life, i.e. children, surgery, chronic plantar that developed months into her last training cycle. She was kind enough to share a little bit about her experience and lessons learned –

“The day of the Marathon was beautiful – sun was shining, 50 deg., hardly any wind. If there was a day to run a PR, this was it. That was my goal – to PR over my last marathon by 10 minutes. Except there was one tiny detail – a ‘bit’ of plantar fasciitis I’d been fighting for 2 mo., and because as much, was feeling a little sorry for myself. ‘How dare this pain show up in the middle of my hard work!’ I’d show it, and LIFE by pushing through until THEY or IT relented. I knew better. But you and I KNOW how runners are. Life isn’t fair –at least the way you think it should be.

I knew this, but when you sign up for a marathon that’s months away, you imaging being lean and running a PR. You don’t imagine a rainy day, a rubber heel cup, or having gained 5 lbs. It’s only as the race nears that you start to realize that Life didn’t get the memo to slow down or ease up because you had a marathon on the horizon. Somehow I continue, to this day, to try and give life ‘the memo.’

I think it’s when we embrace the fact that Life IS uncertain, that we can see the real prize in our goals. That it might not be the actualization of the goal, but the good friend or friends picked up along the way. In that isn’t there real beauty?

The marathon will show you who you are (and aren’t). Every time I run a marathon, I inevitably start thinking near 6 miles in, ‘I’m NOT a marathoner! What am I doing? I’m a 10k or half marathoner! Who am I kidding?’ Of course, this does not help (even if it’s true). I find this so true of life – that there are roles or responsibilities we have, where at the time we think, ‘I can’t do this!’ Or, ‘I’m not capable of this!,’ Or,’ Give me something I’m good at!’ But you want to know something? I’ve never been more proud to finish a ‘mediocre’ time in the marathon, than a ‘stellar’ one in the half, because it took more than I thought I had to give to finish that marathon. Every. Time. No exceptions. I feel proud that I never quit, even when I thought it was too much to bear. And so it is with my responsibilities in Life. There are certain responsibilities I have that I would never have thought I’d be capable of carrying. But they are the ones that have redefined who I am, and of that which I’m capable.

Failing is independent of my self-worth – After a marathon that doesn’t go as planned (this makes 8/9 for me), I start ticking off a mental list of what I should be doing differently, i.e. I need to eat better, I need more sleep, etc. This list is also host to thoughts of, ‘Was it really because my foot hurt, or was it because I’m just mediocre?’ And other affirmations of ‘average me,’ which is a way of thinking that is hard not to get sucked into. These feelings of mediocrity might be my way of trying to cover up the wound of a goal I set and worked so hard to achieve, and did not.

So, I finished my 9th marathon in the same time as my last marathon. No PR. But, I finished with an indescribable feeling of pride in enduring to the end, a smile on my face, and the joy in having my sons rush up to me at the finish, for me to hold. Thus, thank you, Life, for showing me there are bigger lessons than a PR proffers. Running has taught me so much about what’s truly important. Of course, I’ll NEVER give up on the BIG carrot dangling just out of reach (I’ll get you yet PR!), but maybe it’s time for me to have a more grateful attitude.”

For complete results see HERE!

Up next, the Deception Pass ½ Marathon, where Nikki and Aly raced, taking 1-2. And Monday’s Boston Marathon, where Scarlett was just shy of her time goal! Congrats to all those that competed over the weekend! We couldn’t be more inspired!