On May 30, I am attempting my first 100K race (62 miles) in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada in under 14 hours. I do not know exactly what to expect as I have never run this far before. However, I decided some time last year that I was going to do this…

In Andy Andrews’ book The Traveler’s Gift, David Ponder, the main character, is having a conversation with Christopher Columbus who is on his quest to “find” the New World. Columbus has been traveling for 64 days with no land in sight, yet his passion and belief that he will soon find the New World is as strong as the day he started. The men on his crew are getting restless and worried, and as Columbus tells his crewman, “Our only course is forward!” his crewman asks, “Is this realistic, Capitan? Will we find land?”

As Columbus puts his arm around the man’s shoulders he replies, “No – but then nothing great was every accomplished by a realistic person! We will find land! Yes! Yes! But that will be the least of your discoveries. You will find a heart for success that you did not know existed.”

When David asked Columbus what he meant by a “heart for success,” Columbus replies:

“Most people fail at whatever they attempt because of an undecided heart. Should I? Should I not? Go forward? Go back? Success requires the emotional balance of a committed heart. When confronted with a challenge, the committed heart will search for a solution. The undecided heart searches for an escape.”

I have trained…I have run two 50Ks and a 50-mile race in the past 6 months. That, however, is no guarantee that I can run 62 miles. However, I am confident that I will succeed. Like Columbus, my course has been charted. My destiny is assured. I have a decided heart.

I recently read…”Life is a privilege, but to live life to its fullest…that is a choice.”

This past weekend, Mark and I made a trip home to Shreveport, where we both grew up. I truly marvel that I was once acclimated to the humidity of the South. Humidity and heat notwithstanding, we wanted to run on some trails, so we went to the local running store, Sportspectrum, to find out where the trails were. We were directed to “The Monkey Trail” at Eddie D. Jones Park in Keithville (about 30 minutes from town), so named because it runs around Chimp Haven, a convalescent home for retired chimpanzees.

Trying to beat the heat, we got to the trail around 645 am and set out on our run. The trails were awesome – muggy and buggy, but relatively dry even with the recent flooding in the area. Running on single-track trails under dense tree cover, we felt like we were in a rain forest. We even heard the monkeys screaming through the trees – it sounded like we were in the jungle.

Dancing our way over roots, rocks, and rolling up and down hills, Mark swore we we going uphill the entire time. He kept saying, “Sure will be nice on the way back when we can run downhill.” We decided to go 2 loops out and back in opposite directions from the trailhead in order to come back to the car to refill our water bottles in between  the two 5-mile loops.

While ther were a couple of close calls on roots (which I dubbed “ankle breakers), the first loop was relatively easy and tons of fun. The second loop – running the trail counterclockwise – proved to be both more interesting and more adventurous. From the start of the second loop the trail was a little more rugged and, we noticed, a bit muddier (not muddy enough that our running would damage the trail). And there were a few more uphills and steep drop-offs.

I was running behind Mark – we’d run about a mile – when I nearly stepped on a 4-foot long black snake lying beside the path. Mark hadn’t even seen it! I wanted to get a closer look at it, so I called for Mark to stop. It looked dead because it wasn’t moving, so I got a little closer and threw a stick at it. It still didn’t move. Comfortable that it was dead, we decided that we would take a picture of it with my cell phone on our return trip. So with the adrenaline pumping, we continued on our run. Mark told me to watch out for more snakes, but I reminded him that not only did we need to watch the path for snakes, but also that they often hung out in the trees. This was getting more and more fun! (Not so sure Mark thought so after my snake comment)

On our way back as we were approaching the snake site, I dug my cell phone out of my fuel belt to get a photo. We had discussed maybe not revealing to anyone we showed the picture to that the snake was dead. We would seem so much braver if we had gotten a photo of a live snake. But we didn’t have to worry about our “story” – when we got back to the snake site, he was gone. He WAS alive after all. How cool is that?

We finished our 10-mile run and headed back to the car feeling sweaty, hot, and exhilarated. What a day – we had such a great experience on the beautifully peaceful trils of northwest Louisiana.

Our lives are shaped by choices. We make the choices, then our choices make us. Life is a privilege. To live life to its fullest – that is a choice. Running those trails that particular day was a great choice.

Millions of people will never see the spectacular sights you can see when you run on trails. This ultrarunning video by Matt Hart, member of the Montrail National Ultrarunning Team, illustrates some of the reasons why I love trail running…You have to see it.

Congratulations to Joan, my friend from Indiana, who knocked 6 minutes off her previous marathon time to score a PR at the Eugene Marathon – 5:23! Race day started out rainy and chilly, but about 30 minutes after the start, the skies cleared up and we had perfect running weather.

Joan is quite the success story. In 2002, she completed her first marathon…as a race walker. She trained with the Chicago Arthritis Foundation’s Joints in Motion program and walked the Chicago Marathon faster than many people can run it. Bitten by the marathon bug, Joan is now on a quest to run either a marathon or a half marathon in all 50 states! Eugene was marathon number 9!

Joan has started implementing the run/walk method of training, and it has paid off. Not only did she set a new personal record, but she also felt great the next day. She didn’t even have to walk down the stairs…backwards!

As a spectator on Sunday, I had the opportunity to see it all…the front runners who look like they aren’t even touching the ground and the ones at the end of the race whose goal is to just keep putting one foot in front of the other. All were an inspiration to me.

One thing that is so amazing about the marathon is that we’re all covering the same 26.2 miles in the same race.  It is a challenge at every level – some just cover the same amount of ground a little quicker. And, most runners have mutual respect and admiration for all their fellow runners and walkers.

Watching the finishers come in, I had to struggle to keep it together as I saw kids jump over the railing to run in with their mom or dad…grandkids running in with their grannies and grandpas, and parents and grandparents running in with their kids and grandkids.

Finishing a marathon is a huge accomplishment whether it’s the first or the 51st. And, they never get any easier.

So, Congratulations to Joan for finishing her 9th marathon…and congratulations to all those who crossed the finish line in Eugene!