Giving It Away, Part 2

These nine beauties have been mailed to NYC to
be re-gifted to those who can draw on their individual power to motivate...
The first set of medals I am donating to Medals4Mettle. As part of the submission form, those donating are asked about the story behind the medals which are being sent. While a few races have significance to me because they were either the first, or I was accompanied by an important family member,

I was surprised how few "stories" I remembered about each--it even seemed odd that I had received so many, though there was a time apparently when I ran a race every other week or so. For a number of the medals pictured above (especially those that do not have the race name emblazoned across the front) I have little recollection of the reason I received them. Even those I earned for placing first--a moment I deeply craved when I began--hold little resonance now beyond the memory of my wife and I in the bar when my name was announced to a smattering of applause.

When I first began running road races, I was "all about" the medal or finisher's prizes, but like the obligatory race t-shirt, after a while these things just became secondary to the challenge of completing an arduous task.

Breathe in, breathe out… YOU AND I ARE ALIVE!