A MESSAGE FROM Olivia Runs a Marathon (for Girls on the Run!)
My story:
So many family vacations while growing up were associated with the races my mom would participate in. She would take our family to New York and Boston for marathons, Idaho and Wisconsin for Ironmans, and eventually, Hawai'i for the Ironman Championship (more than once! Never mistake Sue for an underachiever).
Running in marathons was never something that seemed unattainable because of my mom. But for every inspiring mom out there, there are about a million external negative messages from the universe that a mom tries to shield her children from.
I struggled quite a bit with my self-confidence growing up. My family moved a lot so I couldn't lock down a friend group easily, I had quirky interests and hobbies that other kids found "weird", and let's not even get into my adolescent obsessions with Hot Topic and bad boys. It's rough out there for a young girl.
My confidence would ebb and flow, usually dictated by how much I weighed because that's what society tells us is important. But 2014-2018 were some particularly challenging years for me. I was fresh out of an emotionally abusive and toxic relationship while trying not to take that baggage into a new one (shout out to my patient and kind husband who never took it personally), clawing my way through graduate school and my first couple of "big girl" jobs, and drinking & eating excessively because actually addressing the pain I was in was truly terrifying.
Around Thanksgiving in 2018 (see non-voluntarily taken photo below), I made the decision to save myself. I committed to losing weight to improve my physical health, not my physical appearance. I started saying "I am choosing not to drink anymore" instead of "I can't drink anymore." I started telling myself that I was enough and I deserved to get better, instead of treating getting better as an obligation.
In 2018 I could barely run 4.5 miles/hr. for more than 15 minutes. But every month, I got a little faster, and I ran a little farther. Those marathons my mom ran seemed attainable for me again.
So here I am, 3 years later, 100 pounds lighter and in long-term recovery, raising money for a non-profit that I could have surely benefitted from as a young girl. I'm ready to prove to myself that running a marathon was always meant to be part of my story, because I'm my mother's daughter.
Why Girls on the Run?
Girls on the Run focuses on empowering girls by focusing on emotional and physical health. While they're well known for hosting 5k's and running programs, they also host workshops focused on building confidence and celebrating young women. It's also my sorority's (Gamma Phi Beta) partner charity! Choosing to run the Chicago Marathon is part of my own personal journey to better my physical and emotional health.
I believe the work that Girls on the Run does is critical in supporting girls at a time where they need to be uplifted and empowered.
Please join me in supporting their cause and creating a community that teaches young girls that no dream is too big, and no goal is too distant.
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