On the 4th of July, most Americans spend the holiday celebrating America’s independence by attending a parade or sleeping in and enjoying a day off of work.
For the past 22 years, I have spent my 4thof July running the world’s largest 10k, The Peachtree Road Race. This year will be the 50th anniversary of the race and my 23rd consecutive run.
While on this day every year we celebrate our great country’s independence from Britain, I am also celebrating my Independence Day from cystic fibrosis.
I never used to run, I hated it. I could barely go a quarter of a mile without labored breathing and fatigue.
During my worst times in college, I didn’t even have the strength to walk to class. I started failing out and stopped doing my treatments, and got extremely ill. It was then that I realized that working out and running were two ways to combat my disease.
I began running a little bit towards the end of college but still had no plans to run a long race let alone the Peachtree Road Race 10k.
My Uncle Bobby was an avoid Peachtree runner. He had completed the race more than 20 times. When I was younger he would encourage me to run, despite my lack of athletic ability in the 4thgrade. I hated running then but eventually I started to train with him.
In 1997, I finally started training on my own.
I wanted to run the Peachtree Road Race to see what all the hype was about. It is the largest 10k in the world after all!
Some days were tougher than others as running the various hills in the Georgia heat is hard enough, but doing it while having a lung disease is difficult.
Despite my setbacks I managed to train enough to feel ready to run alongside my uncle. That same year I ran my first Peachtree Road Race and haven’t stopped since.
What do I love about the Peachtree Road Race, you might wonder?
- The crowds are amazing.
- The other runners are inspiring.
- And the feeling of going one on one against CF is invigorating.
Last year I ran the race in exactly one hour, which was my best time to date. This year I’m shooting for a sub one hour finish!
I run a 5k nearly every day and feel myself becoming stronger with each run. I feel the benefits it has on my overall health and lungs throughout the year.
Yesterday I got my racing number. On July 4th, I plan to have CF’s number.
Live your dreams and love your life.
Andy