Most of the pictures are in from the race and this one was my favorite.
Victoria kept asking, “how far until we hit the water?” She is a very strong swimmer and just wanted to cool down before the last stretch.
Her mother said she was going to wait down by the water for us. She captured this picture right before we dove in (or fell, whatever)
During the run there were some obstacles that she couldn’t do and I told her the one I could do would be the last one with the rope because I can’t grip because of my index finger. At the top of the first hill is a large wall we would need to climb, but she was so exhausted from the hill that she was afraid she didn’t have the strength. I did the wall for both of us.
When we got to the end of the race and she got to the rope, I was certain she would walk around it, but she looked at me and knowing that I did all the obstacles she couldn’t do, I think she did it for me. I watched her go up and over the wall and I met her on the other side. When she came down I burst into tears. I looked over and saw Lester waiting for us to go through the mud pit. He saw me crying with pride. He reached out from the other side of the rope and high fived her as we went into the mud pit.
Later that night he said he saw me crying and I told him how Victoria’s mom had me crying right before we started the race when she said she was happy that I had come into her life. I told her that I am the lucky one to have her in mine.
Lester looked at the pictures from the race and said, “Victoria is awesome! those pictures almost had me in tears.”
I kept repeating, “you’re stronger than you think you are.” over and over during the race and I think she finally can see it. We have a long road and I don’t care how much she weighs she can RUN, she’s an amazing woman, beautiful inside and out and I am damn lucky to call her my friend.
At the end of the race, her best friend from Alaska who had ran as well was at the finish line before the mud pit jumping up and down cheering and yelling, “THAT IS MY BEST FRIEND RIGHT THERE!”
With mud in her teeth and completely winded, she smiled and laughed.
Merrell Mud Run 2012 was a success in that moment.