From Strangers to Sisters

I nervously made my way through the crowd and got ready to begin my first leg of Hood to Coast, a 199 mile relay race starting at Mt Hood and ending at Seaside OR. My new teammates, who at that point were mostly still strangers to me helped me get ready’ You are going to do great” said Jen as she adjusted my speakers onto my shirt “I know you are going to rock this” said Joy as she helped with the other speaker. I was impressed already by the encouragement and camaraderie of my team that I barely knew. I eagerly went to the transition area and waited for my runner Shelly to pass the bracelet to me. I saw her running towards me and my heart began to beat faster. I waved to her as she ran closer and slapped the bright yellow bracelet on my wrist and I was off. My feet pounded on the pavement as I ran as fast as I could. I passed my first person and had what is known in this race as “roadkill” My confidence soared as I flew downhill and had my fastest mile of the entire race- 8:04, things changed as I faced my first hill..my heart pounded and my legs ached, hill after rolling hill I gave it my all but still became others roadkills over and over and over. “Don’t worry about the roadkills Michelle, just be the best you that you can be” I remembered once again this was my race, against myself. “Your doing a great job” runner after runner told me as they passed by me. I stopped beating myself up and raced towards the completion of my 6.3 miles. I heard the crowd screaming and I knew the transition area was coming soon. My eyes scanned the runners and I found my teammate Melissa waiting for me. I slapped the bracelet on her arm and slowed down to a walk. I finally found my team as I was handed a bouquet of fake flowers and a water. I relaxed in the van and felt relief that I hadn’t let the team down and my first leg was over.. The rest of the day consisted of stop and go and cheering on our teammates and lots of awesome conversations getting to know my wonderful team. Six women sharing a van, sharing running stories, stories about our families, the good, the bad, and the things that make us who we are. Each woman so unique yet so alike in our common goals of running this race together. My second leg I was extra nervous about because I would be running in the dark, which was something I had never done. I placed a headlight on my head, a reflective vest on my body with flashing LED lights on the front and back and speakers hooked to me. The leg in front of me was 5.8 miles and rated as very hard. I knew there would be some hill’s but I felt ready. It was after 1:00 am as I lined up to meet my runner. I clung to my sweatshirt to keep me warm as I waited. Suddenly I heard “ 145” being yelled in a loud voice and I knew it was my turn to run. I dropped my sweatshirt, got my bracelet and took off. There was no one in front of me and all I could see was the road.” Am I going the right way?” I thought as I ran ahead. “Just keep going” I told myself. Soon I was making my way up a steep, dark hill and I could see lights of a runner in the distance. The music booming from my speakers began to annoy me and I turned them off. Almost instantly I was engulfed in the beauty around me. The stars shown so brightly lighting my way, the only sounds I could hear were the crickets in the woods, my pounding feet and my steady breathing. “Thank you God for this amazing opportunity” I whispered. As the light of the runner in front of me continued I felt God say to me” Even if you don’t know where you are, or what the journey is going to be like, just trust me, I am your light” The red flashing lights in front of me began to represent God, my anchor, my lighthouse, my hope and my calm in the storms of life. Peace engulfed me as more thoughts entered my head” Michelle it is dark and you may not know where you are going, and what I have in store for you but I can see it all and I have amazing plans for you if you just keep going and trust me” Gods words spoke so clearly to me as if He was my running partner right beside me. The rest of the run was so peaceful I enjoyed every second of being alone with the nature and God. I realized again that sometimes we need to turn off all of our distractions and just be still and listen for God’s voice. My miles flew by as I loved my new running experience. I passed my bracelet off to Melissa and returned to the van to try to rest. The night was pretty much like the day, stopping and going and encouraging our team. There was not a lot of sleep that happened but we still managed to be in a good mood and enjoy each others company. My third leg was to be a short 4 miler and I really wanted to end in less than 40 mins. It was very warm and I was fighting the fatigue of very little sleep, but I felt ready. As I began my race I realized that my gps wasn’t working and so I would have no idea of my pace. “ How am I going to beat my pace if I don’t know my pace” I thought. I began pushing myself faster and giving it everything left inside. I looked down at my phone when I saw the sign saying “ 1 mile until exchange” It read 30 minutes. “ I have got this” I thought. Out of no where the road was headed up a windy road, I wasn’t expecting any hills so I was rather surprised. “Push it Michelle, leave it all on the road, no regrets” I yelled to myself. As others slowed down on the hill I began to speed up. “Dig deep” I said as my heart pounded harder. The hill seemed to go on forever as finally I saw the transition area. I sprinted to the end and quickly checked my time- 39 minutes. I let out a sigh of relief and knew that I had truly given it my all. The race went on as each one of my teammates took a turn running. We were nearing the end and our last runner Kandie took off. We frantically made it to the beach to be there for her finish. I swelled with pride when I saw her coming around the corner and heading towards the sandy beach for her finish and our teams finish. She ran strong and hard and finished what was started 33 hours before on top of a mountain. We joined her and 12 of us who were strangers to me just 33 hours before ran through the team finish line together. I no longer felt like stranger, but sisters. We had shared each others victories, pains, hopes, dreams, and heartaches. We ran the legs individually but ended as one. Each person contributed so much and together we were able to literally conquer a mountain. This beautiful symbol reminded me again that individually we can do great things but when we come together as running sisters and even more as sisters in Christ there is no limit to what we can accomplish together!