The Beginning

I was sitting in a sandwich shop on a Sunday when I spied the pamphlets lounging on a cardboard stand like little literary temptations. Picking one up, I thumbed through the leaflet absent-mindedly and gathered some of the details about the AIDS marathon that is scheduled to happen this fall in Maui.

“It’s a sign,” I confided with a smile to the friend sitting across from me.

“What’s a sign?” my friend asked.

“The AIDS marathon—it’s running the day before my 30th birthday in Maui—it’s a sign.”

My friend did not hide the disbelief on her face very well. “Um… okay… why would you want to run a marathon for your birthday?”

“I want to be the kind of person who inspires people.” The words fell out of my mouth almost automatically; as if I had always known that it was a goal of mine. Of course, I was surprised by my own response, which is often a characteristic of some of the most transformative truths revealed in one’s life. They come as a surprise.

In the weeks following that conversation I weighed the pros and cons of running this marathon very carefully. I almost had myself completely talked out of it, which admittedly gave me a great feeling of relief. But then I learned about what the foundation does for the people it serves. It feeds them, gives them the medications they need, provides the kind of day to day help that they require. Last year no woman in Illinois transmitted the HIV virus to her child during birth because of the efforts of this foundation.

I cannot imagine the powerlessness that someone suffering from AIDS must feel. To be at the complete mercy of a disease that destroys your body’s ability to fight. To suffer the stigma of sickness, and endure the taunts of those who do not understand that it is not your fault. To have ten dollars in your pocket knowing you need twenty to buy a pill that keeps you from wasting away.

I want to run for those people as much as I want to run for myself. I want my legs to carry me to a place inside myself that glows with only the best of me. Through strength and will power and grace-- I’ll be putting my best foot forward—for 26.2 miles.