With the double marathon three weeks away, I’m starting to get the pre-race jitters. It doesn’t help that this past weekend I was rained out on the trails, and the weekend before THAT I just wasn’t feeling it and ended up walking most of the 19 miles of what was supposed to be a 30 mile training run. And weekday runs? What are those 😉
I am traveling this week and next week is a taper. I have a planned nighttime marathon training run this coming Friday so I am going to just make the best of it and trust that all the training I did before will carry me through.
There are days that I wonder why I signed up for this. Who DOES that, run 52.4 miles?
As I was contemplating that question last week I was at a board meeting where I heard about the Rohingya refugee crisis and that people have had to walk for days just to survive, I decided to dedicate this run to them. Some of the stories are truly horrifying, and it reminds me of the genocide I learned about when I visited Rwanda a few years ago. Except this is happening NOW.
As I run, I will be thinking especially of Arif and Sharin.
“We walked 16 days to get to this refugee camp,” Arif shared with World Renew.
When Sharin was just 3 months old, the military started firing rocket launchers into their village in Myanmar. Arif and his wife ran into the forest with their infant daughter in order to survive. “We were so hungry. We lost everything we owned including our home, land, and business.” Arif describes their life in Myanmar, “we have been persecuted for many years. They don’t want us to live there. They make it difficult for people to get an education.” He dreams of his daughter becoming a doctor. “I just want to do whatever I can to help that dream become true. I want to give her a better education than I ever had. I want her to live in safety as a citizen of a country that wants her.”
Help me raise money to provide community kitchens and health, nutrition, water, sanitation, and hygiene sessions for Rohingya women and children! I truly appreciate any support you can provide. It will benefit an amazing cause!
For more fitness inspiration be sure to check out these running link ups: The Weekly Wrap hosted by hosted by HoHo Runs and Wendy from Taking the Long Way Home and Tuesdays on the Run with Patty, Erika, and Marcia!
There is just so much need and horror in the world! I’m so impressed that you are dedicating your run to the Rohinga. Stories like this always remind me that we get to do this. We don’t have to do this.
Thank you, Wendy. It does give a great perspective!
I visited the Rwandan Genocide Museum when I was doing some work in Kigali a few years ago. And what gets me every time I turn on the news is that we just don’t seem to learn. There really is so much painful suffering out there.
I did not get to visit the museum (it was a holiday) but I did go to some of the church memorials. So heartbreaking.
OMG that’s so horrible I can’t even imagine. It definitely puts things into perspective when I think about my first world problems. Props to you for running for them!
Thanks Marcia!
It’s horrible that these things are happening in our modern time. Best wishes to you as you undertake your big run and trust in that your training will carry you.
Thank you Kim!
So sad! It is very kind of you to dedicate your miles to the refugees.
Thank you Amy!
I believe thinking about Arif and Sharin will pull you through every one of those 52.4 miles! I’m going to check out your fundraising link. Thanks for linking with us!
Holly, thank you so much for your contribution!