Running for Sara

Growing up I was always immersed into sports and the outdoors. My two older sisters started the trend, the middle one taking it to new heights by becoming a collegiate diver for the University of Louisville and participating in triathlons and ultra-marathons (which she placed in without much training). However, even though both my older sisters picked up a love for running starting really young, it had never been my thing. I hated running so much that in soccer I made sure I was the goalie just so I wouldn’t have to run. It wasn’t until college that I really found my love for running.

What truly got me started in running was feeling lost at the gym. I’m the girl who needs to have someone to work out with because I need to be told what to do (one of the reasons I love workout videos and personal trainers). When running I could avoid the gym altogether. I refuse to do treadmills unless forced (bad experience as a kid, my tip for you: don’t see how fast the treadmill goes and then hop on at that high speed, you will regret it) and running in circles bores me so running is only enjoyable for me if it’s outside.

I don’t really remember falling in love but, knowing me, I probably just told myself how much fun I was having while running (even though I probably hated it) and I started to believe it. Once I fell in love though I realized how perfect of a workout it was for me. I’m a very non-confrontational person when it involves sports. Example: when I play flag football I feel bad for grabbing the other person’s flag (I wish I could give them the ball and let everyone score but I don’t think my teammates would appreciate that). I just want everyone to have fun and not be frustrated and when I run I am having fun. Over time it has also turned into “me time” and a chance to get away from daily stressors.

When I started college I “run a marathon before I graduate” to my bucket list. My first three years flew by while I developed my love/hate relationship for running (loved it more than I hated it) without any marathon opportunities. Well then summer 2015 rolled around and I realized how close I was to graduating without crossing that one goal off my bucket list. I started researching marathons religiously and I stumbled upon the Disney marathon. Immediately I knew it was the one and my parents signed me up as a birthday gift.

If you’re a senior, you know how hectic your schedule can get. With 18 hours and an internship on my plate, I pushed my training to the back burner. I had set a half marathon as a checkpoint for me. On Halloween I ran the Monster Dash Half. Training hadn’t really been a thing and I ended up getting injured for my stupidity. Nothing serious but I was in a boot for the month of November. December came around which meant finals were happening, break happened, and no training was done over this period other than my regular runs for pleasure. I talked to my parents about it and after discussing it, we all believed it would be best if I didn’t run the Disney marathon.

January 1st came and we lost a friend, a sister. Out of all the people I had told about my marathon, Sara seemed the most excited for me. She kept telling me I was going to have so much fun and that she was really impressed that I was going to do it. After she died, I knew I had to run this race. I couldn’t let all the support I had received from her go to waste! Then before I knew it I was on a plane for Orlando (still without any training).

I’m a child at heart so I loved this marathon. This marathon lets all the runners run through all the parks in Disney with characters along the way to take pictures with and if you’re really fast (which I am not) you can even hop on a ride and then get back to the race. The castle was lit up as well and it was so magical and cheesy and wonderful. I had a blast running the race up until about mile 20 when my lack of training kicked in. I started hobbling and wanted to quit but I remembered Sara’s words of encouragement (they just popped into my head, it was kind of weird) and that’s what kept me going.

Running across the finish line, I felt so accomplished. I had turned something that I initially hated into an accomplishment without any training. (But by the way, train if you’re going to run a marathon. Trust me.)

After taking one item off my bucket list, I’ve added another. I hope to run a half marathon distance or more in all 50 states. I’ve checked two states off already and in April I’ll fly back home to Kansas and do another half marathon (it’s Wizard of Oz themed, how ironic). This means that my journey of running includes at least 47 more long distance runs. Although this is a big goal to accomplish, I am excited to see where it takes me and I’ll always be running for Sara.

Rachel Knapp, PC Spring '13