...meet Cassi! I need to put this down because it continually is on my mind. As many of you know, this past weekend was a culmination of close to 5 months of training a group of 81 runners to participate in the Rock 'n' Roll Seattle Marathon and Half Marathon.
Though everyone finished, some had to make compromises on their race. It is an inevitable fact of distance running...sometimes you just have a bad day...and sometimes that bad day comes on race day. I am super proud of all the runners/walkers out there, it takes a lot to even attempt such a race, let alone raise money for a cause during their training season. The team raised over $92,500 for Seattle Children's Hospital Cancer Research Department!!!!
But I digress...back to Cassi! I've had the pleasure of running with her and her mom a lot this season and watching them both grow into distance athletes. So, when I received a text message tracking their progress and found out that they slowed down to the point of being "swept" (not being able to finish), Anna and I started to panic!
Our friend, Paul, rushed me out to the nearest drop off point and I hustled out to catch them to see what was up. Well, in short, Cassi's knee was bothering her....after a healthy dose of BioFreeze and a couple of extra strength Tylenol, she was back on her way running again...
Unfortunately, due to other circumstances, Linda was out of gas and had to turn off and finish the race early. An incredibly hard, and BRAVE, decision to make. After informing Anna of the situation, I ran to catch up with Cassi again and told her the news and asked her if she wanted to continue. After some thought, it was a GO! But we were still behind the cut-off time limit. So, we hustled and bustled to mile 15, crossing it mere minutes before the police started to divert traffic to the finish line. We had made it...
However, Cassi was tired...in pain...and didn't know if she could finish. There comes a time in every runner's race that they must look inside themselves and decide whether it's worth it. I told Cassi that I would stick with her to the end if she wanted to try and that I believed she could do it. After some tears, she said she was with me.
The next 11 miles were the toughest I would ever face. Emotions and pain were a constant roller coaster. It was very hard to see this young lady go through so much pain and not knowing the right words to say. With the occasional comforting pat on the back and feeble attempts at humor to distract her, we trudged our way along the horrible Alaskan Way Viaduct in 70+ degree weather.
When the words ran out and the tears kept coming, I just kept thinking to myself how incredible Cassi is....a 17-year old, who trained all season with her mom, stuck out on the course with nothing but decreasing miles ahead of her and the hope that her legs wouldn't give out before the finish line.
Well, they didn't. She finished. She is now a MARATHONER! I know a lot of people who would have quit. I know she thought about it, but she didn't. She persevered. I let her cross that finish line on her own, the strong and confident young woman she is. As she enters her senior year in high school, I hope she knows that nothing can stop her. I can't think of many things tougher than what she accomplished this weekend and I can't think of many people who would have pushed through like she did. It was amazing, it was inspiring, easily my second favorite marathon moment ever! (For my top marathon moment, click
here)
I've said it before, and the team agrees, but...Cassi, you're AWESOME!
Jason
