“I’ve lost count of the number of races I’ve done. I love to run. I love to compete. I LOVE the bling. When I joined Rise up Racing I thought it would be another way to have fun, meet people who share the same joy, and maybe get some tips on how to improve my own abilities–or at least get a few more cool medals and t-shirts. My dad was the calm in my chaos. He taught me how to set goals and always taught me to “go be somebody”. When he got sick my world felt out of control. Running MCM had been a goal of mine for 5 years–having previously signed up in 2020 and running it virtually through my neighborhood. As much as my heart hurt after his death–not running it was out of the question. Showing up let me pay an honor to the man who helped build me. I took strength from Coach Leslie’s encouragement to find my focus when most things were out of my control. I wanted to stop at mile 7–and a group of marines ran beside me singing cadences. My heart felt heavy at mile 12 when a runner fell to his knees at the picture of a loved one and I ran through a tunnel of flags for those we lost. I sobbed when I received my medal and a salute from a new Lieutenant at the Iwo Jima Memorial. This was harder than any race I’ve ever run. I am so grateful to have run it with a coach and a team that helped carry me to the finish when there was no way I could have done it on my own.”