Why I Run

Yesterday I ran my first half marathon. I did it! My time was SLOW but I felt amazing the entire time and flew through the final 4 miles. It was a surreal and supernatural day. The entire week was emotional for me. I was super teary and tender as I considered who I was running for and how much these past 5 months have transformed me.

Yesterday began at 4am, which was really 3am with daylight savings time (who decided this? I want to send them an email.). After a shuttle and bus ride, we arrived at Dodger stadium at 6am. Immediately we entered the Stadium. We had exclusive access inside the Stadium for our Team World Vision pep rally. Over 500 runners were on the team this year! Again, surreal. By 7:25 the gun went off ... and we stood there among the throngs of people waiting for our turn to cross the start line. It was an incredible day. I ran with over 65 runners from Newsong and together we've raised nearly $50,000 for clean water wells in Malawi. Our church has been partnering there for over 5 years. We LOVE our community in Malawi and I know first-hand how transformative clean water is to a community. Team World Vision raised over $700,000 for clean water wells throughout Africa!!!!! CELEBRATE!

One of the most humbling surprises in this journey is that I had the distinct privilege and honor of sharing my story at the Team World Vision dinner. Hundreds of runners gathered the night before the race and my story was a part of the time together. This is my story (in 3 1/2 minutes):

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQ-bgiDZIqI&feature=em-upload_owner#action=share

Don't want to miss out on donating? Clean water matters a whole bunch. You can give (tax-deductible) HERE.

The best is yet to come. And, YES, I'm running again.