I run because I can

Forgive my continuation of the running theme but it is kind of consuming.  When you run 13.1 miles you have a lot of time to think and my mind covers a lot of different topics but surely one pervasive thought is "why in the heck would I pay money to do this?"  The answer I always come back to is "because I can."  I spend a lot of time in prayer (running up hills, praying for the next water station, asking God to keep me safe, asking God to heal fallen runners) and through this prayer has come the realization that God has given me the ability to do this.  He has made my remarkable body.  It might not look like I want or function perfectly, but it works mostly like it should and as long as that is true, I will continue to do this.  I had a foreboding thought yesterday after the race when I was considering why none of my friends run for a cause.  I think it's mostly because none of has one common cause that is so meaningful to us.  I thought briefly how quickly that could change. How in a year's time, before the 2011 Go! Marathon, any one of us could be cancer stricken or debilitated in some way and running may no longer be an option.  Unless or until that happens I will run.