WARNING - POTENTIALLY EMOTIONAL AND LONG POST - JUST SAW SPIRIT OF THE MARATHON
First you will notice I highlighted the name of the movie in WISH colors because I thought of you guys the whole time I was watching the movie and I
WISHed I had every one of you there with me there watching it.
Firt my technical impressions:
I liked it because the huge majority of the movie followed "amateur " runners like ourselves. I thought it was going to follow more of the elite and worried that I would not be able to relate to it but NOT TRUE.
I will go out on a limb and say this even if there are those who saw it and dont agree with me . YOU HAVE TO GO SEE THIS MOVIE!!!! It is very inspirational and awesome.
The reason I gave the warning for my post is this movie brought back a lot of emotions that I have not felt for a while because I have not been able to train and run races due to my back injury. Rather than bore you with every emotion I felt through out the movie (DH got it all and he is NOT too happy

) There were two key points that I would like to put out here as hope to those just starting out, as continued motivation to those in the middle or for those like me who need new motivation or who are in a sense starting over:
#1 At some point in the movie they talked about the
40000 runners YES I said 40000 for everyone who complains about the crowded start at DISNEY -- YOU HAVEN'T SEEN ANYTHING!!!! The ariel of the starting line at this race is unbelievable

But then they go on to talk about the
1.2 million spectators and they talk about the connection between the runner and the spectator and how some times when the runner feels like they can't take another step the spectator spurs them on and literally gets them there. I GOT GOOSE BUMPS!!! That's us scream teamers !!!

And that was why it was so important to me to be there for you guys this year.
You guys on this team, day after day have inspired me to press on in spite of injiury and horriffic pain, seriously some days were so dark. But you guys have so pulled me through.
THANK YOU FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
#2 Running for me has always been a very emotional issue. I have never been athletic, ever!! and when we were a very POOR couple with one car and a tiny house and really no hope for the future (pathetic I know but it's true) I never would have imagined the blessings that God had in store for us. I have always been a quit very easily, never try for very long at anything kind of person but then last year changed all that. Last year I graduated from college in a degree in Engineering with the WISH team pulling me through that hard last semester, but ME -- the girl who couldn't run a mile without walking ran a 1/2 marathon at a 9 min pace then ran a 15K at an 8:58 pace!!!
THANK YOU WISH TEAM!!!
I said all that to say that one of the main points that they sum up in the movie is that for a lot of people the marathon is an emotional thing. Figuring out that
they can do so much more than they ever could have imagined they could. That was me last year. Every time we came home from a long run and we added a mile, I would cry and say I can't believe we just did that!! For everyone, even if you are just starting out and your goal is a 5K or you are training for the next full, YOU CAN DO IT!!! If I can get to the point that I did, ANYONE CAN.
So this year I start on a new journey, to do a FULL

And I can not even begin to imagine doing it without you guys!!!! Thank you for all your support and I hope that you guys all get the opportunity to see this movie to motivate you even more to continue on in this journey that we have all chosen to take.
angie