Run Mom Run!

If it is a beautiful Sunday in November and the fire truck from FDNY L102 in Bedford Stuyvesant, New York is parked at the corner gas station it must be time for the ING NYC Marathon.  Somehow Paula Radcliffe found a way to win the women’s side of the race for the third time in her career, in 2:23:56.  (Not sure what most of us did with 2.5 hours of our Sunday, but I am guessing it was not quite as productive).  No easy feat if you take into account that she has had a leg injury for the past several months.  Last year Radcliffe won the ING Marathon, only ten months months after giving birth to her daughter, so we already know that she is tough as nails.

What is it about mothers that causes them to perform feats that require more hours and time then any 24 hour day has to offer?  Perhaps the real success stories of the NYC Marathon are the moms who somehow find a way to run in a marathon, with no coach, no sponsors and only themselves (or perhaps the promise of a quiet hour or two) to hold them accountable to train.  Perfect example is my former basketball teammate at Hofstra University, Melanie Carpenter.  When we were in college she ran cross country in her spare time because she thought it was fun…slightly different then my idea of fun

Now twelve years after her last intercollegiate basketball game, she finds herself a founder and partner of I-advize Corporate Communications on Wall Street, as well as a wife and a mom to two children.  Seven years have passed since she first ran the NYC Marathon, so with all of her spare time she figured why not run it this year.  The last time she prepared for this race, her father would ride his bike while she did her long runs. He has since passed away, so she was on her own as she ran through the streets of Middletown, NJ.

Melanie knew going into the race that she hadn’t trained enough (simply aren’t enough hours in her day) that it would be a tough race and only her mental toughness would allow her to complete the race.   Can you imagine lining up to run 26.2 miles, knowing you weren’t fully prepared, but deciding I will just gut it out?  Complete it she did, although she said there was no sprinting the last two miles like she did in 2000.  (Right now I would pay good money to sprint to the end of my driveway)

I am sure there were thousands of women who completed the NYC Marathon today, who rise everyday at the crack of dawn so that they can run, before their “real” jobs begin as business women, teachers, wives and moms.  Never underestimate the strength and desire of a woman!

For now I hope Mel is giving herself the day off tomorrow, if not I will take one for her!