I knew for the past year or so that I wanted to up my game from running half marathons to running a full. I just wanted to get it under my belt you know? I thought and thought and procrastinated until one day when I was in North Carolina for a Special Olympics event with Finish Line. An athlete named Andrew , who is from Indianapolis was running in a 5k that we had put on at the Special Olympics national conference. This kid is an amazing runner and was clocked in at about 7:30 mile! I had met him many times before and he is truly inspirational. That is when it hit me that if I could combine my desire of running a marathon, with my love of Special Olympics, I had the chance to create something bigger than the event itself and make an impact.
I spoke with people around FINL and Special Olympics about what we could do. What we settled on was that I would raise money to bring the basketball team from Jay County, who are competing in the national games in 2014, to Finish Line to receive a shopping spree. This not only would get them the required gear that they need for the national games, but give them the fun of a shopping spree to get things that THEY want as well. I reached out to my wonderful friends and family and raised over $5000 for these athletes. 10 days ago we brought them to the FINL store in Castleton and it was a day that I will not soon forget. The joy and kindness in these athletes is what makes them amazing. We had such an amazing day laughing and smiling about their new shoes, their new hats, or whatever else they could get their hands on! I don't think these athletes had ever experienced something like that. The store was open ONLY to them and they were treated like the rockstars that they are.
So now onto the marathon. I started out the marathon wonderfully. I was nervous but very excited to begin. My wonderful wife Debbie had reached out to many friends and family that were along the course to cheer me on. Their support was awesome! I will always remember coming down Meridian and seeing Jeff Jarnecke and Fernando cheering me on...as well as many other of my friends throughout the course.
At about mile 18 I started to get tired and just get bored of everything. I wanted to quit, but I knew I had to keep going. This was a life moment. I knew that if I gave up I would regret it for a long time and if I kept going and finished I would celebrate it for years. As I reached mile 22 I was pretty much out of gas. I turned from Fall Creek onto Meridian and I heard a ton of cheering and screaming "MARTY!! GO MARTY!!" I looked up, and there were my new friends, my athletes from Special Olympics Jay County! For those of you that don't know Jay County is quite a ways away. These athletes and their coaches and family took time out of their Saturday to drive over an hour to fight traffic to show their appreciation for what we all did for them. I could not believe it. I hugged them and we laughed and they showed me the signs they had made for me. I don't know if I truly told them how much it meant to me for them to do that. It made the day and made it all come full circle. As I left them I had tears coming down my face as well as the biggest smile I could muster. What my smile couldn't show my heart was feeling.
I was lucky enough to see Debbie and others about a half mile up. My man Joel Zawacki decided out of nowhere to run the last 2 miles of the race with me even though he doesn't run at all, had drank a few beers, and ate a pizza beforehand. Awesome!
I finished my first marathon 1:20 under goal at 4:58.40 . I am truly proud of myself for accomplishing that. I am more proud of the connection that I made with these athletes. Life is much easier if you are happy, nice, and do good things for others. That good thing doesn't have to be a 5000 dollar shopping spree, it could be showing up with a smile and a thank you. It could be driving an hour to support a friend. It could be sending a ridiculous email to someone you haven't spoken to in a while. Life is so complicated that sometimes we forget it is the simple things that make a life long impact on someone's life. Sometimes I think we get so caught up in trying to solve huge complicated issues, that we lose sight on the importance of just making someone smile.
I am sure that my memories of these wonderful Special Olympics athletes coming to cheer me on will last much longer than the pair of shoes that I was able to give them, and for that I am truly grateful.
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