Hello runner friends!
Welcome back to the Bass Pro Fitness Series
MIDWEEK M😊TIVATI😊N blog!
From left to right: Shelly, Jill, Ed, Gretchen, Larry, Melissa, Rebecca, Sumiko
Now let's get started by talking about the power of encouragement. But first, let's look at what encouragement really is. As defined, when you help someone by offering positive words of hope, support and approval, that's encouragement. Within the word encouragement we see the word "courage," which means the ability to face danger and deal with it or the ability to find the inner means to press on to overcome an obstacle. To encourage, then, is to help develop those abilities in someone, while the "ment" at the end makes that development into a noun, the act of giving hope, help, courage or support to another.
So now that you understand that encouragement is simply giving courage, hope, approval or support to another person, let's look at how something that is free, easy to give but priceless to its’ receiver can quite literally make all the difference in a person's decision to give up or go on. And what better way to illustrate that than by eliciting the input from some of the greatest runners and encouragers I've ever been blessed to know... people that inspired me to cross the finish line at an ultra marathon on Saturday and who I, in turn, inspired to do the same. That's the great thing about encouragement though, it's almost always a two-way street. And you know the other great thing about it? When you encourage someone else, you can't help but be encouraged yourself. So here we go with a few stories from some amazing runners at the Katy Trail 50M/50K....
I had the pleasure to be running next to Nathan and Joe, two runners I've never met before but became like brothers. Most of the time during race I start with people and then I am alone on the journey to the finish line talking to myself, rocks, and squirrels. It's mentally exhausting, very easy to listen to pain stop running and begin walking. They didn’t let me stop. I don’t think I would have finished without them or the people I ran into along the way. I remember I saw Ed and wanted to cry because my foot was killing me and (he can read me pretty well) he told me to keep going so I did. And as soon as I saw Rebecca, I got in turbo mode because I would not have been at this race if it wasn’t for her—winning was for her. The aid stations are my saviors, especially when I needed ibuprofen so bad that one of the runners husband's provided. They were just my biggest blessing that day. - Jenni Sherman
In the beginning I had a very strong 18 miles. Knowing that my friend Shelley was going to go ahead and kick butt all day…I went ahead and fell back into some misery of stomach issues and dehydration. I honestly believe if I would not have caught up with Ed and Melissa and then later Gretchen and Ashley that I would still have been walking on that trail 24 hours later. I know i would’ve taken my first DNF (Did Not Finish) if it wasn’t for them. Running with positive people can really change your day no matter how bad it is. Just listening to their encouragement of other runners and their singing and their stupid hilarious antics... it could have made anyone feel better. Seeing the way peoples’ eyes lit up when they saw Melissa and her Ginormous American flag helped a lot as well! I definitely owe this 50 mile finish to my friends and their kind words and conversation. - Jill Brockman
Encouraging and helping others is not only good for them but makes us happier too. Sometimes, I feel, that a person can't see their greatness and potential the way I see them…. So I just let them know in my own non-filtered way with loving support and encouraging words and actions that they have what it takes! - Ashley Moniz (who came out to encourage, crew and pace)
If it wasn’t for all of my friends I knew before I started that race and all the ones I ended up with during and after, it would have been a completely different experience for me. It was so wonderful seeing so many familiar faces out there and I remember thinking as I was heading toward the Klondike aid station “I should start seeing people coming back from the turnaround soon that will be good." Sure enough, I soon saw Jenni’s beautiful smiling face and she gave me a big ol’ high five and told me how great I was doing. I came upon Larry later and we exchanged a huge mid-trail hug and told each other how awesome we were! Then Taryn came down the trail with her beautiful smile and I was so happy to see her too! At the turnaround I ran into Jill, Ed and Melissa. It meant so much to me to have these people who I respect and admire so much tell me I was doing a great job. When you are out there on the trail alone for hours and miles at a time you begin to wonder lol. Every aid station had amazing people who told you how great you were doing too, and laughed and joked and you left feeling like you could go for a little bit longer. Rebecca did an amazing job of supporting everyone and making sure we all got what we needed In a nutshell, if it had not been for all of the amazing people and their kind positive words the race could have turned out much differently for me. I am so blessed to have all of you guys, and I am still smiling and savoring every moment of it four days later - Gretchen Pewett
It’s hard to put into words why you’d ever want to manage a far-running event. It feels like planning a wedding for a hundred people you don’t actually know. You guess the demands, field the questions, try to add in surprises all while attempting to control the three biggest pieces to the puzzle — no one can get lost, timing has to be perfect and volunteers have to be selfless. It’s stress inducing and you doubt you’ve done enough multiple times throughout the process. But, just like training, the hard work will pay off every time. In the end, as people cross the finish line…one that you planned…and you place a medal over their heads…one that you designed…and you ask how their experience was…one you’ve sweated for 8 months out of your year…the answer is there. It’s not tangible, it’s not exactly explainable, and it’s not really about you at all. Leading up to every event, we swear it will be the last…but then, the finish line. It’s the cake you’ve been baking, it’s Christmas morning, it’s the reason. It’s why we started considering the 2022 Katy 50/50 today. - Meghan McCarrick, Race Director (who I thanked for directing this event where so many memories were made)
I signed up for Katy 50/50 50 miles distance the day after I ran 40 miles around Springfield with a group of awesome women. Jill reached out and said "you should come do Katy with Ed and I. I know you can do it." With adrenaline still coursing through my veins from the day before and that little push of confidence I said "heck yeah!" and signed up. As the date approached, self-doubt started to set in. This would be my longest distance ran EVER. But then I got out of my own way and thought "you can do this, you can do hard things!" So Saturday morning I checked my sanity at the start line and took off. Rain set in around mile 4 and didn't stop until around mile 45. Jill and I ran together for the first 18 miles. I started to get into a groove and Jill looked at me and said "go run your race, you've got this." And that was all I needed. I loved the format of this race, out and back. Every time I would pass Jill, Ed, Melissa, and Gretchen there were so many high fives, hugs, and "you've got this!" yells to each other. The camaraderie by all the participants was palpable, all of us pushing and driving each other to keep going and not give up. To top it off, the volunteers were TOP NOTCH! By the last 2 aid stations they were literally running toward me yelling "what do you need?!?" so that it would be ready when I got there. I can't wait to see my ugly crying finish line pics. - Shelly Skeins-Stout
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| Larry (in blue) waiting to start |
For running my first 50K it was a great experience!!! There were several things that kept me going as I started to have bad hip pain. One of things that definitely kept me going was God. He gave me the strength to continue to press on by seeing the joy in everyone! There were smiles and people giving each other encouragement. I remember on my way back I saw Ed. I yelled Ed!!! Ed smiled and encouraged me. Then shortly after that, I saw Gretchen and we hugged each other and gave each other encouragement. Then I saw Melissa, and she smiled and asked me how I was doing. She told me that I was doing really good and then called to check on me throughout the race because she knew I added a lot miles in a short time and was dealing with my hip pain. Seeing Rebecca and Ashley cheering me on helped too. You see, we all impacted each other out there in some way or another, which kept us going. Our actions spoke louder then words. After the race, a guy that ran the 50k as well told me that I had kept him going. He told me that after I passed him and told him he was doing good and to just keep moving, he kept his eye on me and told himself that he just needed to keep continue keeping his sight on me! I thought to myself WOW! I think we all did that for someone out there running that race and as well as in life. I will tell you that I’m definitely hooked on Ultra Running!!! Going to do 50 miles in November!! - Larry Sharp
As a long-time runner, I have learned that the more joyful a person's heart and the more positive their mind is, the better they are able to overcome the pain and adversity that must be conquered to cover long-distances. And quite honestly both the heart and the mind are fed by constant encouragement... either from inner encouragement, which is a learned practice where a person keeps a cheerful and happy mindset by the thoughts they allow themselves to think, or from outward encouragement where the heart and mind are fed by the words and actions of others. And while both have power, outward encouragement can fan the flames of hope when a person's inner encouragement wanes... something that inevitably happened to me and so many of my other friends at Saturday's 50-mile race. I can't add much to what my friends already said about it except for this... the encouragement I received from them inspired me to give it right back and inspired all of us to make to the finish line. Like ping-pong (Forrest Gump's favorite game remember?), the cheering and rallying went on all day (back and forth back and forth), and was most definitely the key (as everyone attested) to the group's success. - Melissa Martinez
So there you have it friends, encouragement indeed has the power to cause someone to go on rather than give up. So knowing that that someone could very well be you, give it and spread it as often as you can confident that encouraging words and actions are like ping-pong balls that you hit to your friends... they will hit them back to you which is a win-win for everyone.
Happy Running!!!
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