Make the Impossible Possible!

I love marathons. I always have. Picture it. Rome, Italy. I wake up one morning and I hear cheering and music and feet pounding from out my window. I strapped on my running shoes to see what’s up, just like that I jumped into the marathon at Kilometer 12. No number, no training, no problem!

In the final stretch, both feet bleeding, a pair of seasoned runners grabbed my elbows and together we crossed the finish line.

I could barely walk for two days, but I was hooked. The joy, the solidarity, the pure adrenaline (dopamine) of racing through a city filled with thousands of people rooting for you is something everyone should experience at least once in a lifetime.

In March of this year, I signed up officially for the Rome Marathon, and started at the beginning. I didn’t train. I walked a few kilometers and stopped to stretch when I needed to. I don’t take my legs for granted anymore.

I lost my mother to ALS last summer. I watched her struggle to take even the smallest steps and realized how fortunate I am to just jump out of bed in the morning, to be able to rush across the street before the light turns red, to dance, to stand on tiptoe or balance on one leg to change a lightbulb by myself.

The loss of mobility can be demoralizing. The loss of autonomy paralyzing. Thankfully organizations like Achilles International are working to transform the lives of disabled people of all ages through sports and community. They make the impossible possible, and empower people to cross finish lines in races they never dreamed they could start.

During the last ten kilometers of the Rome marathon, when my thighs were screaming at me to stop, a team of wheelchair racers rounded a corner to a swell of cheering and music. Their exhilaration was intoxicating, their smiles contagious. Their courage the very definition of revitalizing. They gave me new life.

On November 12th I’m running another marathon, the original Greek one.

Jokingly I say my only goal is to not die like the original guy a couple thousand years ago. Granted, he probably didn’t have the right shoes. But truly. I don’t run for time. I run for love.

But I have another goal. Marathons make me explosively happy. Please help me spread some of that happiness by supporting Achilles International and making the impossible possible, and so many dreams come true.

Achilles International is active in 18 countries.

Since their founding in 1983, Achilles international has empowered over 150,000 athletes of all ages and ability levels to participate in endurance events around the globe.

Read about all the ways your donation will make a difference.

I adore you for your support!

XO, Annie