On Monday evening I dedicated my 3.5 mile recovery run to my friend Zeynep who is an alumna of TNT herself. This year she's in Turkey on a Fulbright working on an amazing documentary and book project related to foodways and cultural identity in Turkey. I miss her a lot as she is one of my Alaska besties. We have spent quite a bit of time over the past few years writing together, drinking coffee and cocktails together, and occasionally working out together. I wish I could afford to go visit her in Turkey. Wouldn't it be amazing to do a run in Istanbul and cover two continents?
I dedicated Saturday's slightly longer run of 5.36 miles to my friend Jen, who is a talented writer and artist. I'm proud to have a piece of her art hanging in my home. Jen is one of my former students, and I really enjoyed having her in my classes. After she graduated from university a couple of years ago we became friends since we have a number of mutual interests (history, Dr. Who, Marvel, feminism, art). She likes looking at winter scenes but has repeatedly claimed that she doesn't like to be outside in the winter, so I offer these scenes from my run to her for her viewing pleasure.
I'm really thankful for my friendships with both of these fabulous individuals, and I really appreciate that they sponsored me! There's still time for you to get in on this. If you'd like me to dedicate a training run to you, donate more than $10 to my fundraising efforts for LLS before the end of the day next Monday (2/15).
Have you ever dedicated a run to anyone? Have you ever had a run dedicated to you?
I love this concept for fundraising! Great idea!! :) The scenes are gorgeous too!
ReplyDeleteNow if the morning light would just come back so half of my outside runs didn't have to be with headlamps. :)
DeleteI haven't dedicated a run to anyone before, though I did spend a lot of my first marathon thinking about my high school cross country coach. He got me started on running and would be completely surprised to know that I'm still running!
ReplyDeleteThat's great! I think my high school coaches would be very surprised to hear that I became a runner (albeit a slow one).
DeleteThis is a first for me to have a run dedicated to me. I like it ;) I did run my first marathon in the name of my good friend Jen's mother who passed away with leukemia.
ReplyDeleteI also ran the 15K at the Avrasya marathon in Istanbul with my brother and we dedicated it to our cousin who was killed by her ex-husband. We did cross over from the Asian side onto the European side on the Bosphorus bridge and it was a beautiful sight. This year all of the siblings will attend that cousin's daughter's wedding in Mersin. Life has a way of moving forward. I think marathons are a good metaphor for it- can be very difficult at times, down right unbearable even, but you keep chugging away and you finish and you ache but it feels like a triumph. The good, the bad, the ugly and the beautiful all side by side.
You inspire me with your example and words! I agree with what you say here about the metaphorical power of running and marathoning. I'm so sorry to read this about your cousin, but I'm glad that your family will have a chance to come together for a happy occasion that is a testament to resilience and triumph even while aching.
DeleteI love this idea of dedicating runs to those who have donated to the cause you are running for! I don't think anyone has dedicated a run to me, but when I ran my 4 marathons, I dedicated each mile to someone different and it was a great thing to focus on, especially during the tough miles at the end!
ReplyDeleteThank you for sponsoring me, friend! I'm looking forward to dedicating one of my miles to you, as well as one of my training runs!
DeleteWhat a great idea! And perfect timing as I am in desperate need of running mojo. :)
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