Marathon 2009

Any idiot can run. It takes a special kind of idiot to run a marathon. I saw this sign along the beautiful down hill road of the Marathon this year. It made me laugh, maybe because it is so true. I have not run for 2 months. I have been in a hospital bed for the last month, hardly moving. I was not physically prepared for this marathon. These last few days we have been so grateful to be home. I kept going back and forth in my mind whether i would attempt doing the marathon this year. My mistake was mentioning to Travis i was thinking about it. He was so exited and told everyone. So much for running under the radar. I figured if no one was waiting at the finish line i would not feel bad about bailing out somewhere along the trail.
Travis's childhood friend Josh Jones and his wife Joni came down so she could run it. this was her 12th marathon. She was motivational also. So there i was at 5:00 am waiting for a bus up the hill. I kept telling myself Anything after a half marathon would be great. 6 hours later I was almost there, praying every step of the way, and feeling so grateful for my physical health, and grateful to Heavenly Father for all he does for us. I thought a lot about Arianna and how grateful i am for her being here on this earth with us still, and how she has been so strong and how much pain she has been through. If she could make it through that pain I could make it through this. The last mile Kaley and Taylor ran with me i told them this last mile was for Arianna, so we all picked it up to a pretty good pace, they crossed the finish line with me.



My shirt has a picture of a turtle on it and it Says," I Am Running". So True


liz wrote this on Ari's blog and i loved it she is so sweet

Finisher

Written by Elizabeth (Lane) Hibbard

I can't believe how much endurance Haley seems to have. She seems so sweet, guileless, and innocent. In first appearances, she doesn't give any hint as to how much strength she possesses. On Saturday, I was telling my husband, Brant, that Haley ran the St. George Marathon today. I said she hadn't even been training and just ran it. He said, "It's not that hard. You just have to put your mind to it."

Yeah, right, I thought. I could not just "put my mind to it." Then, I thought about it more and more. I've thought about it the last couple of days and I realized he was right. She did just "put her mind to it." She has either learned this or comes by it naturally, but she knows how to do that. I think that with Haley, she "puts her spirit to it," then her mind follows, and then her body follows. Now, of course, she has run marathons before and she knows what it takes. But I think she has been able to accomplish any goal she sets because she becomes so determined.

I've realized how many challenges in my life have become obstacles, not because I really can't do them, but because I haven't put my mind to it. I think Haley is such a great example. She said on her blog that as she was running, she kept thinking about what Ari had gone through and how strong she had been. She knew Ari didn't give up and kept fighting. It was from Ari that she drew her strength.

The last mile, Kaley and Taylor ran with her. I think, like in life, when our family runs alongside us, it can give us that extra boost and help us find our way to the finish line. I guess, in life, there are starters, quitters, and finishers. I hope that when it's all said and done I can stand under a banner that reads "Finisher."