My Running History: From Diaper Rash to Warrior Dash

Cystic Fibrosis attacks your lungs, mucks up the system and makes cardio hard. Many see cardio as an obstacle, something to be avoided. I see it as a necessity. I need to get my lungs working hard to assure they are as strong as they can be. How do I do this? Run, run, and then run some more. Sometimes I run hard, sometimes fast, other times far.

Running has always been my most rewarding and enjoyable therapy to combat CF (I’m not a medical professional, this is just my opinion).  And now with diabetes, it’s even more important.

How did I start running? When I was old enough to run, I ran (probably much like Forrest). Later, I turned to soccer, football and basketball; anything that kept me moving. I ran my first 10K at age 9 with my family, the Bolder Boulder in Colorado, I wasn’t fast but finished.  In middle school, I went out for track where I ran the 400 M which is basically medium/long distance for a 12 year old.

In high school, I joined the track team and later cross country. My coach, Mr. Hess, was a Math teacher and coach who had several CF patients through his doors and was familiar with my situation. On the first day of track, he sent me to the distance group without asking. We both knew distance was what I needed. I finished high school placing at Regionals in cross country and in track in the 800m run, 1600m run and 3200m relay and went on to place at State in the relay.

Without structure, it was hard to stay in shape and keep running after high school. I stayed active in intramural sports but didn’t focus on my lungs the way I should. A couple years ago, I renewed my focus on running, particularly to whip my lungs in shape. I began with the Bolder Boulder again, much slower than in high school, a couple other 5Ks, and added the Warrior Dash as a yearly staple.

In 2012, I set my sights much higher and completed the Music City Marathon and Murfreesboro Half marathon. I plan to keep this momentum into 2013.

I am going to post my PR list online as a reminder of the benchmarks I set in the last couple years and plan to beat . . . wait, destroy in upcoming races. 

            5 KM                    23:58 ~ Red Nose Run Lynchburg, TN

            10 KM               1:12:35 ~ Bolder Boulder Boulder, CO

            Half Marathon   2:13:32 ~ Middle Half Marathon Murfreesboro, TN
            Full Marathon    4:58:08 ~ Music City Marathon Nashville, TN