Best way to start a Fall Saturday? With a Dirty Girl Mud Run! This morning a few girl friends and I took on the challenge of a 5K obstacle course involving A LOT of mud! Needless to say, we had a blast! The lovely group of ladies that I was honored to run with today make up the core of what has turned into a bit of a running team.

When I started out on this half marathon journey, I was prepared to go at it alone. It was something I wanted to do to prove to myself that I could. Along the way, I have been blessed with some really wonderful people to share this adventure with. It started with Kristina. She began running with me thinking that I would motivate her, but as it turns out, she has managed to be a great inspiration to me. Kristina is optimistic and motivated, and on days I don't want to run, I think of her and how she turns to me for motivation. Not wanting to let her down, I lace up and hit the pavement. Our Sunday morning runs have become what I look most forwards to each week.

Then there is the lovely Ammie! On a fluke, Ammie asked me to join her in a 10K. I was terrified; I had never run that far. She reminded me that running was fun, and that I needed to keep that in mind. Here is a woman with a lingering back injury, that was told she should never run again. She has made herself strong and remains always optimistic. She is proof that you can overcome anything with the right motivation and attitude. Ammie is also the one who got me to my first mud run....SO MUCH FUN! With her, Ammie brought her two friends, Genesis and Cat, to the mud run today. These two lovelies have decided to join us in 7 weeks to take on 13.1 miles of running.

So here we are, a little bit of a team! I am so excited to have people share my enthusiasm and to make this endeavor not only easier, but more fun. Tomorrow these wonderful ladies will all meet for a Sunday morning run and together we will train, motivate and encourage each other. While running is usually a solo sport, I have found that sharing it with friends makes those tough days easier, and the good days great!

Our next goal will be a 15K at the end of September. This will put us one step closer to the half marathon, and give us a small attainable goal to keep us motivated and running. I'm so grateful for my new found running friends, and cant wait to see who else we meet along the way! Only 7 weeks left!


The Dirty Girl Mud Run 2013.....thanks ladies for an awesome day!