June 10, 2012 was my first official #Run3rd event. It took place in San Jose, California on a beautiful perfect sunny day. The temperature at start time was 64 degrees. The sun was out. The birds were chirping and the geese… oh the geese! There were geese. Did I mention my fear of birds? Oh yes, I fear them and they love to taunt me. We don’t have the best kind of relationship. I fear them and they in turn like to chase me. Nevertheless, I put my fear aside in order to participate in this run. The Dream Mile 5k, 10k, ½ marathon was put together by the Vibha Organization. This organization raises money every year for two main beneficiaries Door Step School (DSS) & My New Red Shoes (MNRS). Door Step School provides education and support to the often forgotten children of pavement dwellers, slum dwellers, construction site families and many other underprivileged families. The mission of My New Red Shoes is to help homeless children look and feel confident as they start the school year while raising awareness about homeless families. My New Red Shoes provides homeless children with brand new clothing and shoes.
My trusted sidekick Mari (aka “Mar Mar”, aka “sister”), joined the race along with our boys ages 5 and 9. We figured it would be the perfect “kid friendly” run to initiate the boys into one of our favorite past-times. Sister was the one who convinced me to run my first ½ marathon 6 years ago, it is only fitting that I now bring her along to all of my runs.
We decided to watch over the boys and run the 5k. It was a well-organized and painless run. The boys were very excited and watching them experience the ambiance of these events for the first time was sweet. I kept in mind all of the #Run3rd dedications/tweets as I ran my course while listening to music in one ear and watching out for my kiddo. The thought of loved ones who have passed recently made this particular run inspiring and fitting. I ran for you all and dedicated this run to my great grandmother who passed away at 108 years old of natural causes earlier in the week. I also learned over the weekend that a former co-worker and Early Intervention Specialists Marlene Saloner had passed as well from complications of Cancer. The thought that I could dedicate my run to Marlene a loving, kind, passionate individual who was not just my wonderful yoga partner but an example of how to live and be kind to others made my run all the more meaningful.In the end, I ran my 5K in 52:46.8 minutes while my 5 yr. old ran it in 52:38.1. It may seem slow but it’s my pace and what matters is I ran!
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