Community

Having a group to run with has been the biggest boon to my running.  Hands down, the friendly faces I meet up with on Sunday mornings have been the singlemost effective training aid I have ever had.  More than properly fitting shoes, well timed energy gel, or the looming spectre of a race I've entered and now need to run, those guys and gals have taken my running to a new level.

This was made all too painfully clear last weekend when I chose to run 14 miles on my own rather than kill myself at a 1/2 marathon the rest of them were attending.  I tried to talk myself out of the run, I worried about it, I even questioned why I really wanted to run in the first place.  This never happens when I meet them on Sunday morning.  "Sure," I'll say, "I can do 18 miles.  Just don't want to run by myself."  

So I was thrilled to learn that the little town of Fossil, Oregon, is creating a community of their own around the Biggest Loser show on NBC.  When one local office decided to start a Biggest Loser challenge, they put a notice in the local paper.  To their surprise, 66 people, or 15% of the town's population, showed up for the first weigh in.  Early in the evening, 20 to 30 people gather together to work out.  They've even started a pool for the top losers.  And local businesses are getting in on the act by donating gift certificates for the winners.   

For people to change their lives, they have to come together in community.  Knowing that others are going through the same struggles and challenges will make them stronger.  I have no doubt that the people in Fossil will have more success with this journey than they would have if they tried it alone.  We talk a lot about the obesity epidemic in America, but maybe it's an epidemic of loneliness.  We try too hard to do things on our own.  When we come together, we can achieve even more.

This blogging community that I am just coming to know is the same way.  I've been a long time lurker, but I've finally decided to share what I write and think about.  It's scary, but at the same time, it is exciting.  I love reading about what other runners are doing in their training and in their lives.  Knowing that I'm not the only person who goes a little bit crazy when I can't hit the roads, or that hitting the point that I can't run another long run before the marathon is actually sort of normal, helps me to keep on challenging myself.   Helps me to get over the roadbumps that come with anything that is difficult.

So to all of the bloggers who have been generous enough to share their stories and their inspiration, thank you.  You have built an incredible community.  To the inspirational folks in Fossil, good luck.  Keep on supporting each other; you can do it.  And finally, to my fellow running buddies, thank you , thank you, thank you for letting me join you.  You guys are awesome.