Chasing the impossible dream...

My marathon shirt I'll be wearing with all your loved ones names you asked me to run for!













Oh.

My.

Gosh.

The day has arrived. Sunday I have to run a marathon.

Gulp.

Deep breath.

I can do this.

I CAN do this.

In all honesty, had I not blogged about this back in September, I probably would stay tucked in my bed on Sunday, made some kind of excuse, and not go through with it. I mean, we're talking 26.2 miles. Me? It seems like such an IMPOSSIBLE thing for me to accomplish.

In thinking about the upcoming race, it made me think about the first race I ever watched. Back in 2002, I took a photojournalism class because it was required for my Magazine Journalism major. I was super excited because I knew I was obsessed with my point and shoot camera, and I couldn't wait to get my hands on a "real" camera (aka, SLR camera) and learn all how those crazy f-stop, shutter speed, ISO things worked.

However, mission failed.

I honestly didn't have a good teacher who explained it well, so I ended up getting frustrated not understanding how everything worked together. And this was before the digital cameras came along that showed you instant results of what you were doing, so it never clicked in my mind, and out of my frustration I put the camera down and thought "Well, I guess I was never meant to be a photographer."

However, during that time, one of the assignments I had for that photojournalism class was to document an event. Someone told me about a 5K race happening one morning on campus, so I thought it might be fun to go see what all the racing hoopla was about, that is, until I found out the race started at 7am! I immediately thought "Do what? Runners are crazy to get up that early, I could never be a runner." Yet, I got up at the crack of dawn with them and went to document their race. Here's a few of my "I have no idea what I'm doing with the camera" shots I got from the race. (But I do like how I accidentally got some motion blur in the pic below!)







Fast forward to now. 2010. I've become one of the crazy ones. Not only have I become a photographer, but I've become a runner. And um, I have to be at the starting line for the marathon at 6am. Gulp! I guess that's why the cliche sayings goes "Never say never!"

But here's the thing, yeah, I like to get out there and try to run, but I don't really consider myself a runner. I've never once been able to run continuously for a full mile. It's more like, run for a song length, walk for a song, run for another song, walk for 2 songs. And now I'm chasing the impossible dream of running/walking 26.2 miles? Oh, Scarlett, so like you to dream big.

But I blogged about it in September because I knew I had to hold myself accountable. I knew if I made it simply as a personal goal for myself, or kept it to myself, I would never accomplish it. So instead, I set a goal to raise money for the cause, and asked you here on the blog to leave a comment of someone you love that I could run for. What started with a goal to run for my dad, who passed away exactly one year ago on the marathon day, and my mom and Grandma, both breast cancer survivors, then turned into a t-shirt full of 55 names I'm now running each mile for.

So for Sunday... I ask for your prayer... to lift me up as I run toward the finish line. To lift me up to prevent injury. To lift up my energy levels and endurance... There is NO way I will be able to accomplish this long race on my own, so I will strictly be relying on Jesus through the strength of your prayers.

I know that any pain I endure along the way is nothing compared to what each of the 55 people on my list have been through. For those now dancing with Jesus in Heaven, and for those still fighting the good fight, I run for them.

Lastly, will you help support the cause? I set out to raise $1000, and I'm just over $300 away from that goal. I've been asking people to donate money in honor of a loved one they know who has been through cancer. The money goes toward life-saving breast cancer research at Mayo Clinic, the place that helped heal my mom from breast cancer back in 2004. I appreciate any support you can provide to help meet this goal by Sunday morning! Even the smallest amount like $10 goes a long way! You can learn more and donate here:

http://donate.breastcancermarathon.com/2010marathon/Scarlett

Thanks for your financial support and all your prayers and encouragement! I have the best blog friends a girl could have! :-)