Running for Others

Written by Matthew G. Orlando for the Just Finish Newsletter

It's 5 a.m. Your alarm clock just went off. You want to hit the snooze button and just go back to sleep. But you don't. You roll out of bed, hit the bathroom, and change into running clothes. You take a quick look outside. It's raining. You're tempted to slide right back into bed, and why not, you were up late last night. But you don't. You put your watch on, grab your key, and head out the door into the cold, dark, miserable wet weather. A few blocks in, you think about turning around, heading back home, drying off, and slipping back into bed for an extra hour of sleep. But you don't. Something drives you, something pushes you, something compels you. And so you push through your 10 mile morning run, wet, cold, and unhappy…but you finish, and you are glad you did.

But what if you didn't? What if you snoozed when the alarm went off, or slipped back into bed when you saw it was raining, or turned around after a few blocks because of the rain? What if you don't have that extra something to push you through those excuses? Luckily, in my life, I've found that compelling reason to get me through the tough runs. I run for others, and if you don't, it's about time you gave it a shot.

Running is mostly a self-serving activity. By running, you gain the speed, you gain the endurance, you reap the health benefits: physical, mental, and emotional. But through running you/we can do so much more. The next time you step out the door, try running for others…you'll be surprised how much more meaning your running brings to you, and how you can push past those excuses. But who can I run for, you might ask?

Run for a charity. By running for a charity, you use your gift/ability to help raise money for a cause of your choice. Many charities now have programs set up to help you train for a particular event, providing coaching and support, while in turn you raise money for the charity. A good example is the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program (www.teamintraining.org). They provide coaching, mentors, clinics, group runs, and race day support. I personally have done 3 events with them, and found the program to be amazing.

Run for someone who can't. I am sure you know someone who has touched your life, and you wish you could do something for them where they can't do it for themselves. Personally, I run for my brother and my sister. My brother passed away last year from cancer, and so, each time I step out the door to run, I do it to honor his memory. Before he passed away, he asked that I run the Marine Corps Marathon (www.marinemarathon.com) for him (he was a former Marine). Sadly, injury kept me from it last year, but I still run with him on my mind, and plan to run the race in his honor soon. I also run for my sister, who was paralyzed from the waist down several years ago. I run, because she no longer can, and in doing so, bring strength to her will to one day walk again.

Run to help others attain their goals. This year I had the honor of helping my girlfriend achieve her PR in the Long Branch Half Marathon (www.njmarathon.org). We trained for 14 weeks together, which allowed me to ease back into running, but more importantly, gave me a new outlook on running and how I can use it to help others. Together, through almost 3 hours of rain and wind, we pushed through it all to help her knock 21 minutes off her previous time, for a total time of 2:52. That big of an improvement, by anyone’s standards, is an amazing feat. By helping her achieve her goal, I found a new appreciation for running overall. I was proud and excited to help her reach her goal, but not only that, I actually was able to enjoy the race. I wasn’t huffing and puffing and hurting and struggling to reach a new PR for me (ran 1:50:27 the year before). I was able to run easy, and take time to enjoy the simple act of running. I was able to fully appreciate the beauty of 9,000 mostly complete strangers coming together for one purpose, one goal…to cross the finish line. Sometimes when you’re too focused on yourself, you miss the bigger, and oftentimes greater, picture. Take the time to help someone else reach their goal, whether it be to lose weight, run their first race, or set a PR. Through their achievement, you too will feel like you accomplished something great.

There are many other ways to run for others, and I'm sure just reading this helped you think of some. So, I'm simply going to end with a quote, which I find very fitting and very inspirational:

“A life isn’t significant except for its impact on other lives.”
- Jackie Robinson

Run on friends.
-Matthew

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Matthew Orlando has been a runner for over 14 years. Collectively he has collected over $6500 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society through his running. For more information, or to find out how you can donate, visit www.mattruns4funds.com.