(feels like a) Monday Motivation: Terry Fox

I have a slight -- but vivid -- memory of my childhood of Terry Fox's loping gait. His hop-hop-step, a result of running with a prosthetic leg long before anyone had designed one for running, is engrained on my mind, almost like a never-ending animated gif.

And I don't know why.

My parents weren't runners, and I certainly wasn't an active kid apart from playing soccer. No one in our house was swept up in the "running boom". But he's there, with his ringer tee and his curly hair bouncing. I remember hearing the news that he had had to stop his Marathon of Hope because the cancer had spread to his lungs. News from the small, black-and-white television in the kitchen, playing in the background, maybe.

And now that I'm really thinking about it, "That's Incredible" (or was it "Real People"?) comes to mind...

A quick Google search points me to imdb, which confirms that, yes, in 1980 Sarah Purcell from "Real People" interviewed Terry Fox while he was running his Marathon of Hope, running alongside him for the interview. And if I could have found a video to embed, you know I would have. So that's where the enduring memory comes from, I assume.

Of course, it's not like I have spent the last 35 years thinking about Terry Fox.

But since I started running, I think about Terry Fox a lot. Here's something I have never told anyone: I run with a Terry Fox silver dollar in my race belt. Because, well, even when I'm having a hard day out there, it's nothing like what Terry went through.

(For the record, I also run with a Theodore Roosevelt dollar coin. Talismans are important.)

I also made a point to sprint slightly off course when I ran the Victoria Marathon a few years back so that I could pay a visit to the Terry Fox statue there. (A course marshall thought I was cutting the course -- since the actual course passed on both sides of the small park. But she smiled when I told her I had just needed to run over to grab a photo with Terry.)

And speaking of Terry, I saw this picture today:

photo courtesy Hunter Brothers Farm

Yep, that's the start of a corn maze. An epic, Terry Fox 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Hope corn maze. How much do I wish I could see this in person? Sadly I don't foresee a trip to New Brunswick anytime in the near future.

Farmer Chip Hunter told cbc.ca that they "decided to pay tribute to the 35th anniversary of the Marathon of Home, and because he ran by our house and we met him."

By the way, the Hunter Brothers Farm makes AMAZING corn mazes ... the Beatles? Cat in the Hat? Sesame Street??? You can see their corn maze archive on their website.

This year's Terry Fox Run takes place on September 20, 2015, information on locations and ways you can donate can be found on the Terry Fox website: www.terryfox.org/Run/

Motivation Monday: "Run Like a Girl"

It's not the first time I've shared advertising for "feminine hygiene" products… I mean, the O.B. Tampon "Apology" campaign was genius, after all… but it didn't make me get misty-eyed and completely inspired.

So I felt I needed to share the "Run Like a Girl" campaign by Always. Yes, Always.

First the director (Lauren Greenfield, who also directed the documentary The Queen of Versailles) asks some adults -- male AND female -- what it means to run like a girl, fight like a girl, or throw like a girl. Now, c'mon, admit it. When you read that phrase, I bet you also imagine the stereotype.

But the completely inspiring part comes when Greenfield asked young girls the same questions -- and their totally badass responses.


The tiny little girl who says that to run like a girl is to "run fast as you can" -- gets me every time. And the rising awareness of how words shape opinions as these grownups are encouraged to think about it… well, it makes me so happy. And weepy.

So when I run that half marathon on Saturday? I'm gonna run like a girl. And give it all I can.

"Why can't run like a girl also mean win the race?"

Monday Motivation

Team Wil-Sun's Long-Suffering Friend Suz ran the Rock 'n' Roll Portland Half Marathon last weekend and this is her finish-line photo:

AWESOME!!!!!!!!!

This picture makes me want to go out and run. This, my friends, is how it feels to finish a race. :)

Congratulations, Suz, on RnR PDX, and best of luck with San Diego and Seattle in the next few weeks!!!

Monday Motivation -- so much inspiration!!!!

If you're reading this, I can assume that you know that today was Marathon Monday -- the 118th running of the Boston Marathon. I was lucky to be able to watch it this morning at work, as we stood around chatting and cheering, sometimes going back to our own desks to watch, but frequently regathering to chat. A pretty great way to spend a morning, eh?

On my walk home today I kept thinking about different things I wanted to write about -- so much to write about! -- for please forgive me if this post is a little more scattered than usual.

Monday Motivation #1: Meb Keflezighi!!!

photo by Charles Krupa, AP

All the way home I kept singing "Eye of the Tiger", but just saying MEB.

Meb! MebMebMeb! MebMebMeb! Meb Meb MEEEEEEHHHHHHBBBBB!!!!

I'll admit it -- I've liked Meb for years, from when he won the New York City Marathon in 2009 (first American man since 1982), to when he won the Olympic Marathon trials in 2012, and his two great finishes at the Olympics (a silver in 2008, 4th place in 2012). I'll also admit that I like Meb even more since Nike bizarrely cut him in 2011, and that he races for Skechers. Yep, Skechers.

In fact, I think Meb is my favorite male marathoner (other than Wil, of course!!!).

Anyway, it was great to watch Meb run today -- I loved how he opened up a big lead, then watched in alarm as Wilson Chebet started to reel him in. It was a little like a horror movie there for a bit… it seemed like every time they changed camera angles, Chebet was just that much closer. We were all counting seconds by watching their feet as they passed road markings. Twenty seconds, then 15, then 10, then 5 or 6… But in the end, Meb prevailed, becoming the first American man to win Boston since 1983.

Monday Motivation #2: Emma Stepto

Emma Stepto winning the Bristol Half Marathon

On Saturday afternoon I finally sat down and watched the recording of the London Marathon. When I think of marathons to run, if I ever run another, London is top of my list. So, yeah, I watched 6 hours of coverage…

I noticed Emma Stepto just before the elite women's start. She was wearing a bright yellow top, but I couldn't really see any detail. I did wonder if maybe she was a Brooks runner that I didn't know. I spotted her a few more times during the coverage -- turns out she was the second fastest British woman in the marathon, coming in at 2:36:05, good enough for 14th overall.

After watching the race I looked her up on Bing, and found a very cool post on the Improbable Runner blog, which informed me that Ms. Stepto is … FORTY FOUR. Not only that, but she didn't start running until she was in her 30s. Well, there it is -- it's really never too late to start running!

Nice coincidence: I found her on Twitter (@emgogogo), and she thanked @brooksrunninguk after the race. So maybe she is a Brooksie of sorts.

But the awesomeness of Meb, Wilson Kipsang, and Emma Stepto all pale, frankly, in comparison with our third motivator:

Monday Motivation #3: Tatyana McFadden

I've written about total badass Tatyana McFadden before… after she won the NYC Marathon (and, of course, Chicago, Boston, AND London in 2013…). I was surprised and happy to see her during the London marathon, as I didn't know whether she would be racing. After all, she had changed her focus (albeit temporarily) to cross-country skiing. Oh, did I mention she earned a silver medal at the Paralympic Games in Sochi the other month? Yeah, she's that sort of athlete.

The men's wheelchair race in the London Marathon was very close, with four men screaming down the Mall very close together. The women's race? Not so much -- Tatyana McFadden simply outraced everyone.

And then this morning… there she was again, all of a sudden, winning Boston. WHAT??? Winning by more than 2 minutes? Well then.

But even that isn't the best thing about Ms. McFadden.

She raced today for team MR8, in honor of sweet Martin Richards, 8, who was one of the victims of last year's Boston Marathon bombings. She was wearing his name and age on her back while she raced.

photo by @PaulaEbbenWPZ

But wait, there's more…

After receiving her gold-dipped laurel wreath, she took it over and gave it to Carlos Arredondo, who rushed to the aid of the bomb victims last year.

Greg M. Cooper-USA TODAY Sports

So. Very. Awesome. Oh, and today is her 25th birthday. So happy birthday, Tatyana McFadden!

Monday Motivation: LaKeisha and Give It 100

I'm probably way out of the loop on this… and this has probably been posted/shared a gazillion times… but I saw this video for the first time today and was SO MOVED.

It's a time-lapse video of a woman named LaKeisha, who committed to going to the gym every day for 100 days. In three minutes she made me cry (0:54), laugh (1:32, when she'd dancing with her bear), and cheer (2:05, day 78, when she steps on the scale and it settles on 299.2 -- "out of the 300 club!").

click the image to watch the video on YouTube...

Then I went to the Give It 100 site and discovered other people doing great 100-day projects, from hip hop moves, to musical instruments, to languages, to pushups and headstands. There are so many things I can think of… but what to do first???

Here's something slightly shocking … in 100 days we will actually be BACK from Peru. How did that happen? 

In Peru news… two nice things. 

1) I was pretty sure that in a previous adventure, years ago, I had purchased a pair of Gore-Tex trousers. It took some digging -- I had put them with other snow/winter outdoor gear -- but I unearthed not one but TWO pairs of such trousers… and one of them even fit Wil. So we're sorted from a waterproof standpoint for our trip!

2) I've FINALLY started getting organized re: immunizations. We had looked at the CDC.gov site to determine the shots we needed, which (since we're going to the rain forest, too), are:

- Hepatitis A

- Typhoid

- Yellow Fever

- Malaria

Now, yellow fever is the tough one. Only certain pharmacies / doctors are licensed to dispense it… possibly because it has to be kept cold? I have a long list of places who, in theory, stock it… but almost all of them are out of stock. In fact, the only people I have found who have it, are the folks at the King County Health Department. But the problem with going there? You need to pay $110 PER PERSON to meet with the nurse. And then you pay for the vaccine on top of that. Other places, such as Bartells or Pharmaca, charge $50 per person. Oh, and at the Health Department, you have go to during banker's hours, on Monday, Tuesdays, or Wednesdays. So I see that as a last resort. 

Then I discovered Katterman's Pharmacy -- they're open more reasonable hours, AND they don't charge for a "travel consultation" when you can just walk up and tell them that the CDC.gov site says we need A, B, and C… They can even prescribe malaria pills for you -- no trip to the doctor required. So that's pretty amazing. 

So, anyway, yesterday we went to Katterman's, filled out some paperwork, and received our first Hepatitis A shot (we'll have another in 6 months) and picked up the Typhoid tablets -- "a vaccine in a capsule!". (We took tablet 1 this morning, we'll take the additional three on a day off, day on cycle.) We'll go in another time to get our malaria tablets organized, all the while hoping that -- as the pharmaceutical company has said -- the Yellow Fever vaccine shortage will ease in April so that we can get that without paying a $220 premium…

I loved Katterman's, by the way -- it's a proper family pharmacy, with travel supplies and scarves and Easter decorations and a staff who knew most of the customers by name. I only wish it were closer to our place, rather than a 30-minute drive away. (A big challenge: balancing the desire for shopping at independent stores with the desire to not need to drive…) I'd just like to highlight how personal the service felt, how fast and efficient it was -- I'd highly recommend them to anyone in greater Seattle who is planning a trip to a faraway land… or even just folks who need a prescription filled. 

Monday Motivation x2

#1: Tatyana McFadden, who won the women's wheelchair division of the New York marathon on Sunday... Having also won the Chicago, Boston, and London marathons this year. Total badass!

#2: Nowhere near the same level, but... Check out the 2013 Wine and Dine Half Marathon medal!