I Ran Into A “Celebrity” On The Trail

Yesterday morning I was finishing up my run and I ran into a celebrity of the running world! Well after you hear all about him, you will think so too! This tall man, who looked like he could outrun me any day lol, ran up to me and said, “I kept trying to get your attention, but you run too fast and I can’t keep up with you.” We both laughed…plus, I knew that was so not the case. He was so witty. He introduced himself as Jim (Jim Ottinger) and asked if I knew who he was. I remember hearing or seeing his name somewhere, but couldn’t quite recall at that moment where. He asked me my name, then got into his story of how he started running at the age of 54 (mid 1980’s). At the time, he weighed around 270 lbs and was diagnosed with heart disease. Per doctors orders he needed to change his lifestyle or he wouldn’t be around long. He decided to make changes not only for himself, but also for his family. He set a goal — and a marathon it was! (That’s 26.2 miles for those who didn’t know). It’s been history ever since.

He said, “Out of all these years of running, I’ve never had an injury….you wanna know why?” I said, “Why?” —he said (with a big smile on his face), “Because, I got Jesus!”—and of course that deserved an “Amen”. We talked a little about my church (Church of the Highlands) his church, (Mountain Top Church), Jesus, then he asked me about how I got started running, my passions, and some of my fears, concerns, etc.  I shared with him how sometimes I get down on myself because I don’t run very “fast”. With a puzzled look he said, “Fast? What is fast?…You don’t have to run fast, you run easy.  Basically, when you run take it easy.” At first I thought he was just trying to make me feel good, but he kept stressing You don’t have to run fast several times. At that moment, I knew someone was listening. I stopped comparing myself, but every now and then that “fear” (or whatever you want to call it) will creep back in. I know I’m not the only one on this journey that has felt like they had to go faster or be stronger. Yesterday I realized that I didn’t have to be. Not taking away from anyone who has shared encouraging words along the journey, but yesterday I needed to hear it.

Back to Jim…

 

You wouldn’t believe it if I told you he is 80 years young, would you? I sure didn’t! He ran the original marathon in Athens, Greece (involving TWO mountains) <<< did this in five hours AND in 96 degree heat (yikes!), ran across the Great Wall of China, ran the 100th Boston Marathon, and ran on six continents. Over 100+ marathons later, 53,000+ miles of pavement—he’s still going strong!

Meeting Jim yesterday was totally unexpected. It was a true destiny moment—a God moment. Before leaving, he gave me a magazine with an article for inspiration. He said to me, “I’m so proud of you, keep running!” This totally made my day. I’m so thankful to have been at that place, at that time. It felt great to hear words of wisdom from someone who has been doing this thing for 25 years+ that many people respect and esteem highly.

 

I was the girl that finished with the last half of mile run finishers in P.E. class in grade school. I wasn’t last, but it was close enough. Back then, it was a big deal! I was a cheerleader, clogger, dancer, flute player for goodness sakes and I did them all well, but running…so not my thing. As an adult, I could barely run 15-25 seconds without having to stop and walk. I mean…it really was a challenge, but I got stronger. You wouldn’t believe it, I completed my FIRST half marathon (13.1 miles) this past February!!! Talk about one of the greatest moments of my life! Then remembering back to the first time I was able to run THREE complete miles nonstop (no walking). I can’t wait to keep building up to see how far I can go! (By the way, there’s nothing wrong with walking OR with walk breaks, especially for those who are trying to build up). There are also great programs out there like Couch-to-5K that make it easier for you to follow. Lifetime Runner and All-World Olympian, Jeff Galloway, also has great running resources that help you run-walk-run distances injury free while incorporating Walk Breaks. He calls it the Galloway Method. So, instead of trying to hurt myself reaching a distance by a certain time, I focused on how far I could go and endure by just running freely. I started off with a goal of 15 minutes, then 25 minutes, etc. That day, I would’ve kept going had Jim not stopped me, but I’m so glad he did. I will never forget him or that moment. I now realize that everything comes in time. I’m not competing against anyone. This is MY race, my race for life!

Sincerely,

Forever Inspired!