What is "Meg's Miles," you may be asking. January 13, 2014 a Mother of 3 young kids was running with her husband during training for the Boston
March 9, 2014 I ran the L.A. Marathon. I finished in 5:59:18. I was hoping for somewhere between 5 hours and 6hrs max. With that stress fracture still looming I had to take it easy, and I just barely made it under 6. But I finished. June 21st I ran my fastest 10k, 8:31 min/mi pace! Never ran that pace for any distance over 1 mile before or since! I also placed 3rd in my age group! I had NEVER placed in a race before! Not even any 5ks I had done!
Interesting thing... The same day I started running for Meg I started running for God. Coincidence, perhaps. Perhaps not. From that first 13.6miles, through the marathon, to that 10k... my miles were spent praying for Meg, for my friends and family. The hours of training and racing I spent giving my worries, my stress, my grief to God. Grief? You say. Yes... I lost my Mom when my daughter was almost 2 yrs old, July 2009. While I was pregnant with my son, my oldest brother was diagnosed with stage 4 metastasized melanoma cancer. Paul passed away when my son was 11 months old, July 2011. I started running after Paul passed away. Did my first 5k in October 2011. May 2012 I ran my first half. A year and a half after Paul died his wife also passed away, diagnosed with melanoma in her brain. She didn't know she had melanoma while Paul was alive. Ruth died in just two short months after diagnosis, December 2012. It was after her death (and after finishing my 3rd half marathon) that I went from running half marathons to deciding to run a full. Something that terrified me. And something I thought was impossible. But there was a time I thought running 3 miles was crazy! I decided to raise money for Melanoma Research and make this one count for something! My runs became a time I spent not only praying, but listening to uplifting music and worshiping God.
As I realized God wanted me to use my runs as a way to connect with Him I couldn't justify to myself also running for Meg. I didn't see how the two fit together. Then I learned Meg was a Christian too! And I felt a nudge from the Lord saying, "It's okay. You can run for me and for Meg." The group on Facebook that grew daily to over 17,400+ members had become a place I looked forward to visiting. Every post was inspiring and so encouraging. And then I realized that I had a place like that for Paul... and I understood how it must feel for Scott, Meg's husband, and her Mom and her Mother-in-law to visit that page every day.
The website I go to is a like a living memorial to Paul. It lives and breathes, and his spirit is kept alive by his climbing buddies and the climbing community. Not everyone knew Paul personally, but they were all touched by his story, his battle, and his passing. They post pictures from their trips where they have taken his ashes with him on their climbs. We literally sold chalk balls with a pinch of Paul's ashes in them to people that were willing to take him with them on their climbs. It was Paul's idea actually, and in his sense of humor he dubbed the chalk balls, "Paul's Balls." Here is a link to the site on Super Topo: Paul's Balls There are no more ashes left. When Ruth passed away, the end of "Paul's Balls" came with it. And my Dad dispersed the rest of Paul's ashes among his many favorite climbing locations. But people still have those bags of chalk. And they still climb with him! One of the gals on the site said,
...PAUL'S BALLS was the man's idea so it's also difficult to find anything but big fun in the idea and that Paul will be on many-a-crimp, deep in hand cracks, smeared on the sides of chimneys on crags, alpine, gyms........sheesh. Paul Is Everywhere!!! It's as hilarious as it is godly.....
Yup... he got it. Every time I go on that site I am moved to tears. Paul is everywhere! And he is where he loved to be. On the mountains, on the sides of cliffs, in the cracks of rocks. Meg's Miles is like that site. It's a place that we all carry the memory of Meg on. Her spirit is kept alive among us. She is where she loved to be. On that early morning run with the sunrise, with her running buddies chatting and having a good time, training for the hardest race of her life, and running some fun ones... And the spirit of Christ that was in Meg is in many of us. So now, I post my miles for Meg and for God. I post for her family. To encourage them and to inspire other runners. I can't climb like Paul climbed, so I run. And I continue to raise awareness for melanoma and raise money for research to cure melanoma cancer. But as I run it's nice to know I can also encourage a family that has lost their loved one. 1 Corinthians 1:3-4 says,
"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God."
So, it all makes sense in the end. I run for God and I run for Meg, because she ran for Him! I also run for Paul and Ruth, for melanoma cancer research and awareness... but who says that doesn't fit into all of this either? I think I like my little running group: me, God, Mom, Paul, Ruth, and Meg.
I hope to reach 800 miles for Meg by 1/18/15. One year, 800 miles for Meg. And if I can place those shoes there with my own two hands, even better. We shall see. Only God knows. But I hope so. She has brought so much meaning to my running, so much deeper meaning than I ever thought possible. Thank you Meg! And God bless your children, your husband, your Mom, your Mother-in-law and all the other relatives and friends that miss your smile every day. May the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen
(Phil 4:7)
(Phil 4:7)
#MegsMiles #RunforHim #RunforGod
1/18/15 NOTE: I was able to complete 753 running miles for Meg. I also completed 112.65 biked miles last year in training and for my sprint-triathlon. I dedicate fully these 865.65 miles to Meg and to God, whom she loved and served all her days on earth, and continues to serve in Heaven. Amen.
