I want to be a Fifth Third River Bank Run Road Warrior because ....*

I am not a traditional runner. I was super-morbidly obese for the majority of my life. I was slowly dying and needed a drastic change. I decided to have bariatric surgery. As the weight started to come off, I found that I could move more easily. It no longer hurt to walk around the block. So, I started walking on a treadmill at the gym. I completed a couple 5ks and was content being a walker, until one day when I wondered if I could run. It was a question that just popped into my head while I was on the treadmill. Next thing I knew, I was increasing the speed on my treadmill and I started jogging. No, I was running! It only lasted about 30 seconds, but those 30 seconds had a huge impact on my life. If I could run for 30 seconds, what else could I do? Could I run a 5k or 10k? It was a life changing moment. Prior to this moment I saw myself as someone that lived inside her comfort zone and never tested her capacity. Running on the treadmill for 30 seconds made me believe that there was a whole world of things that I could do, if I wanted to try. Surgery was the moment I saved my life; running is when I started to live my life. That day on the treadmill was just over a year ago. Since then, I have completed 6 5ks and 2 10ks, while running with a training group and have lost 198 pounds, all because I wondered if I could run. Next, I will run the 25K and I look forward to both the challenges and rewards that it will provide. #53rbr