A new way to run

Mike and I ran the Marine Corps Marathon together last year-- it was a first marathon for both of us, and it was really really incredible, inspiring, exhausting, and exhilarating.

One of the most inspiring things about running the marathon last year, though, was the sheer number of people that were wearing tshirts indicating that they were running in honor of a fallen Marine. Seeing these shirts had so many different effects on me. Mostly, they choked me up, which of course, sort of hampered the running. But it was a good push for me-- it reminded me why I chose this marathon and inspired me to dig in deeper when I was pretty sure I was a) dying, and b) about to poop my pants.

This year, Mike and I have the privilege of running in honor of a fallen Marine. I came across this blog a few weeks ago and I've been so touched by Rachel's story that I knew I wanted to run in honor of her husband. Mike was in total agreement-- after we get married next June, we'll be a military family. This means a lot to both of us, for so many reasons. When I approached Rachel about running in honor of Jonny, she was in total support, which thrilled me.

I think it sucks that we have a reason to run this race-- in a perfect world, people would run marathons because they wanted to, not because they felt it was a good way to honor someone who has passed away. (Although the whole marathon event is in honor of Phidippedes, who died of exhaustion after running to Marathon, so I guess that wish is inherently flawed.) But since we don't live in that world, I feel blessed to have the opportunity to support another military family.

We'll be sure to keep you posted on our progress in marathon training, wedding planning, life arranging, etc... we're going into all of this with our boots on the ground! (Cheesy. I know.)