Flying after the bridge

It really happened. The race that I had envisioned for over three years happened. And it happened in a HUGE way. People from all over the country came to Selma to run the 51 mile relay. One guy even ran the entire race alone. Triple ^5 to him! Okay maybe more than triple.

Let me tell you, it felt great to have the race of my dreams come to fruition. Now I can add visionary to my list of adjectives. It was an amazing day. There were a few bumps along the way and definitely things to improve upon, but the majority of the feedback was positive. This was a first. This was the inaugural race. And the date is already set for next year. I am a legend! (Ha, if only in my own mind)!

Running over the infamous Pettus bridge was just as emotional as it was the first time I did it. This time I had the added thoughts of running along the same road that the marchers did in 1965. The camps where they spent the night are clearly marked. I think we all said prayers of gratitude as we ran by. Sharing this experience with my dad (our van driver) and my Charleston running crew was awesome.

I did not do this feat solo. There were many people who worked tirelessly to make this race a success. The are the members of the Walk Jog Run club. They were on the ground making things happen. But this was my dream. I will take sole responsibility for that. And yes, I know and appreciate that dreams do not become reality without hard work.

I have no idea how many people participated. But it was many. It was a diverse crowd. It was diverse, because civil rights benefit everyone. I cannot tell you how many times I had to school people on the Civil Rights Act and its various titles. Or how many times I had to say that civil rights is not just a 'black thing'.

Anyway, the race was a success. It was beautiful. It was a dream come true. The only thing that would have made it better would have been having Representative John Lewis there. Maybe he will be there next year. I need to start working on that right now.
 
 

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