Have you ever told someone they were an inspiration to/for you?

I spent this past weekend at my 35th – yes, that means I graduated from high school in 1979 – high school reunion. I know I can always go home again as I currently live about 20 miles from where I grew up. What I didn’t understand was that I had so many friends that had grown up there with me.

On top of having a great time catching up with some of the out of town classmates, I reconnected with many friends I do not see often enough, even though we do not live far away at all. Some of the biggest – and yes, best – parts of the weekend were from friends who wanted to tell me they follow my training with great interest. Others were from friends who told me how inspiring I was to them.

I never think of the average person as being a big inspiration to others. I always think we look up to, or are inspired by, those who are in the media and doing things I would probably never think of doing – being in the Olympics, professional athletes. I never really thought of myself as an inspiration.

So, if you were at the OFA Class of 79 reunion and talked to me about my fitness and healthy living  journey, thank you! You may recognize yourself  in one of these snippets.

• The classmate who thanked me for posting my running on Facebook who has taken to biking more seriously and is losing some weight – not necessarily the goal – due to it
• The classmate who walks every day but is starting to run a bit with a spouse who is starting over on a running  journey
• The classmate who saw a post about a training group at the local running store and signed up and ran a first half marathon this past May
• The classmate who says her knees would not let her run anymore but was so happy to follow my training cycles

Moral of the story: Carry on. Live your healthy life. You never know who is watching and what they will take from your journey.