(Photo: Kaz Novak, Hamilton Spectator).Today was the first slow day since all the buzz from the ATB race. Getting
into a marathon last minute, to try to make the Olympic standard, is quite the experience yet consuming! My week couldn't have ended any better; the news of Rotterdam, a steady 40 km long run w/ friends (total highest mileage of 155 km/wk), and attending the Navigators banquet w/ Silvia Ruegger as key speaker was amazing. FYI Silvia was 8th at the 1984 Summer Olympics and holds the Cdn marathon record (2:28:36).Earlier in the week, I had become Facebook Friends with Silvia, telling her about my exciting ATB news, that we were trying to get into a marathon, and that I would be at the Navigators banquet.
She replied, "Scripture sustained me when I was training for the trials and the games in 1984; Job 42:2 was a key verse for me when I was making the transition from middle distance track to the marathon...a huge jump in 4 months...but with God all things are possible; he is the ultimate qualifier; when he has an assignment/purpose for us, he gives us everything we need to fulfill it. l do the woman sized task and let God do the God-sized task.I look forward to seeing you on Saturday. Silvia"
Wow! So, Darci placed us at the same table, which was a thrill. As you can see by the picture, we did a lot of chatting; we have marathon running, U of Guelph nutrition degrees, and a love for God in common. I really enjoyed her talk about how she felt like quitting at mile 18 in L.A., how she wrote on a piece of paper as a teenager that she wanted to be an Olympian, and about how God used her successful past to position her as the National Director of "start2finish", an after-school running and reading program. Hearing her talk about her passion to address childhood poverty in Canada was quite something. There is so much to this lady, because of God! Here's a youtube that is worth watching, "Olympic Runner Finds Purpose After Accident".
I feel very fortunate to have met Silvia and look forward to learning more about "start2finish".
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2nd Woman.