On champions
I truly am a sucker for witnessing people reaching their goals. It is why I pursued coaching as a career and it is why I spent the first half of my Sunday a few weeks back down at the Stampede grounds soaking in the Calgary Marathon. I also had several family members and friends racing, including my mom, sister, and husband.
And I had the absolute time of my life. I had the runner’s high without even needing to run.
There’s this meme I saw once and I’ve had it saved on my phone ever since because it is adorable and hilarious and describes me perfectly. So here it is.
I have been so blessed to have so many people in my life who have supported me, championed me, and who have helped shape me into the person I am today. I get really sappy about it. I am the character in that meme.
But at the marathon, I got to be on the other end of it. I got to witness people reaching their goals and pushing themselves into new possibilities. I got to simply be a witness and an encouragement.
There was one moment in particular, though, that stood out to me.
My 61 year old mother ran the half marathon, her first half marathon. She has been training, hydrating, and adjusting her diet accordingly for months. She was all in.
Now, my mother is not great with directions. She gets in her head about it. So, when given the option between turning left or right, she made the wrong call and finished early at about 10km. All that training to finish at less than half her goal.
But she is nothing if not determined (check out this blog for more tenacious stories about my mom) and she was committed to running 21.1km. So she ran around Calgary for an additional 11km to ensure she met her goal. Like I said, she isn’t great with directions, so she ran up and down one road for 11km to ensure she didn’t get lost it the city.
As she approached the finish line, for the second time, she was defeated. She was walking in and she was tired.
I managed to get into an area I would later get kicked out of, and I was able to run right up to her before she crossed the finish line. I shouted and cheered her on. And while I did so, that lady went from defeated to inspired in a moment and we sprinted to the finish line together.
That’s the power of having someone in your corner. That’s the power of community. When all we see is how much further we have to go, we have people in our lives who see how close we are to the finish line. It is a wonderful thing to be those people and to have them surround us.
My mom has been one of my biggest cheerleaders for my entire life. She has encouraged (and often financially supported) all my crazy dreams and just believes in me like no one else. And running alongside her as she crossed the finish line for the second time that day I got to return the love. I got to be her champion and her cheer leader.
I tend to compartmentalize different relationships into categories. There is mentor and mentee, there is parent and child, there is leader and follower. So when I look at this meme there are those who help and those who are helped.
Running with my mom though, I realized there is no boundary or rules in our relationships saying we can either give or receive. We get to do both. This isn’t a mind blowing thought, but running with my mom that day it hit me in a new way. I was thrilled to be running beside her. I was thrilled to see her take on a new challenge and push through obstacles to achieve it. Because I know how many times she has done that for me.
So, I would like to invite you into a couple of things:
Who are your champions? Who are the people cheering you on as you run, walk, crawl across the finish line? Reflect on what you are grateful for in those people. Recall specific moments.
Where have you been a champion for someone else? What has you grateful for those moments?
Where is there opportunity for you to be a champion for someone else? Maybe it is one of your champions or maybe it is someone else. What action will you take as their champion?
