Joyful Tears For SoCal Ragnar Relay Runners

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Friday night at about midnight we were driving down 1-15 towards San Diego. I knew the SoCal Ragnar Relay was being held Friday and Saturday, ending in San Diego. So I checked out the race map earlier in the day and knew they would be running down I-15. I hoped we might see the race from the highway but I had no idea what effect it would have on me.

Looking out the passenger window I began to see single red lights every hundred yards or so on the frontage road. Sometimes there were several near each other. Other times there would be one light alone in a long stretch of road. In front of each of these small red illuminations you could see the rays of a headlamp lighting up only a small piece of road in front of each runner. The images of these runners painfully slogging their way up and down the hilly terrain, alone in the dark was overwhelming. Tears came to my eyes. I still get teary-eyed thinking about it.

My hands raised in the air, I cheered them loudly from inside the car. "You can do it! You can do it! Great job! I am so proud of you! Oooooh, you CAN do it! You can!"

I sent my heart to them and wanted so badly that in their souls they could feel me sending them love and encouragement. I wanted them to know I was with them, that they were not alone, that I had faith in them. I wanted to give them every ounce of energy and encouragement I had. I wanted to pull off the road and cry with those that cried and celebrate with those that celebrated. I felt so proud of them as I watched them do this very hard thing.

As I have thought about all those emotions I was flooded with in that moment, I've thought about their courage and how I want to have that kind of courage in my life, whether it be for fitness challenges or anything else. I thought about how often we don't know who is cheering us on right around us just outside of the view or , but they are there and they are cheering. And I thought about how much I want to let people around me know that I am cheering them on and that I really know, deep down in my heart that they CAN do it - whatever they face in life.

I'm inspired to make my cheering a little louder and a little better heard. I am going to roll my windows down and yell very loud from now on. I'm going to cheer for myself and for you! I CAN DO IT! YOU CAN DO IT! WE CAN DO IT!