The Run

Posted by on Dec 11, 2012 in Baños, Bob, Ecuador, Video | 8 Comments
The Run

As I crossed the finish line, emotion welled up inside me. In fact, I cried. I don’t know why that happens to me after long races sometimes. It just does. I was completely spent. Nothing left in the tank. I also felt tremendous gratitude. Gratitude for being done. Gratitude for having spent a few hours on a Sunday morning in Quito with a sea of humanity – men, women, people who speak different languages, blind people, people in wheelchairs, tall and short people – all unified by one purpose: to complete the race. Everyone had trained for months. Everyone gave their all. For three hours we were brothers and sisters shouting encouragement to each other. “Vamos!”

I was also overwhelmed with gratitude for the year we have had. The Mitad del Mundo Half Marathon represents a sabbatical bookend, on the other side of The New York City Half Marathon, which I ran in March on the front end of our sabbatical. All the thinking, planning, risk taking, and ultimately stepping out in faith, has been realized as one of the richest, most rewarding years of my life. Lifetime memories are etched by incredible people, places and experiences. Walking through this year as a family has brought us close. Real close. We have learned much and we have grown.

As I neared the finish line, my son Benjamin stepped from the crowd to run the last couple hundred yards with me. On this same day, he and Adam had completed the 10K (their first 10K). “You’ve got this Dad. Almost there.”

It was a perfect finish.

The Run

With each step, the landscape passes by.
Barking dogs give way to grazing cattle.
Paved roads become cobblestones become dirt.
Houses turn to pasture to forest.
The run winds alongside a river, Mama Tungurahua casts a watchful eye.
Tranquilo.
With each step, the landscape passes by.
Fresh legs tire, my back stiffens, the balls of my feet increasingly sense the gravel road.
Muscles that didn’t exist yesterday clamor for attention now.
My watch has slowed.
With each step, the landscape passes by.
Discovering roads, fincas, pueblos, and vistas that did not exist before.
A boy with his sheep, a man with a hoe, a woman washing clothes, kids going to school.
Morning springs to life. Ah, breathing in a new day.
My thoughts meander.
Joy, pain, hope, everything is possible, ojalá.
With each step life passes by.
 

 



8 Comments

  1. John (Pots) Wagner
    December 12, 2012

    Quite a post!! Quite a race!! And quite a year!! So glad it has been everything, and more, than you expected it to be! It will be a treasure that you will all embrace for the rest of your lives. It has come at a cost, but that pales in comparison to the bountiful blessings you have experienced. You have brought inspiration and blessings to so many others as well. You gave love, and received much love in return. Quite an investment!

    So glad to have been a very small part of it! Very memorable to us too!

    Mom Mom and Pots

    Reply
    • Bob
      December 16, 2012

      Thanks Pops. We appreciate your tremendous support and love. It makes venturing out a little bit easier.

      Reply
  2. Julie Lehman and family
    December 12, 2012

    So many of us back home are both envious and inspired at the way you have embraced life and faith and followed where God has led you. Can’t wait for your return.

    Reply
    • Adam
      December 26, 2012

      Thanks Julie. See you soon!

      Reply
  3. ellen jacobs
    December 12, 2012

    I can’t believe the year has passed, what a great post, Bob. I’ve so enjoyed reading everyone’s. Thank you for sharing and giving me the spark of your experiences….Banos
    is wonderful, I’m so glad it all was productive for everyone.

    Enjoy New Year’s Eve in Banos, that was my favorite place for a new year’s celebration (one of my favorite, what a fun time!!!)
    aloha,
    ej

    Reply
    • Bob
      December 16, 2012

      Thanks EJ. This morning we awoke to the Tungurahua volcano exploding. It has continued for several hours shaking our house and dropping ash everywhere. Never a dull moment in Baños. Best to you.

      Reply
  4. Sally
    December 16, 2012

    Fine, make me cry on this rainy sunday morning in the mountains. Thanks for sharing your journey this past year, it has been a privilege to go along on a small part of your ride. Get in touch when you are back in WNC.

    Reply
  5. Bob
    December 16, 2012

    Oh, Sally… Thanks for your words. We’ll be back in Asheville in mid-January. Looking forward to catching up with you.

    Reply

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