Before I get into my tribute to Endo, I must first thank everyone that contributed to my fundraising for Back on My Feet. Thanks to you I raised $3175 in less than 72 hours and met my required amount of $3000 for running the NYC marathon. Thank you everyone! I plan to volunteer with the charity in the near future and am excited about the experience. There is a series of trainings I need to do before I can actually go out on a run with team, but I will make a post on the blog once I do. Don't forget that although I did meet my fundraising requirement, you can still donate to this great charity on my Back on My Feet fundraising page.
Mary, Brooke, Ruth, and I at Portland Half
Next I have to mention my first marathon training partners, I wouldn't be running my fourth marathon if they were not there to get me through my first one. Ruth, Mary, and Brooke, you are all the best. I went from not a runner at all to running a marathon in 11 months. We had a fun (and sometimes miserable) 18 weeks of training. After every Saturday long run we would get brunch (usually including cocktails). As part of our training we did the Savannah Rock and Roll (October 2011), my first half marathon, and it was blast. We ran the Disney Marathon a month before my 40th birthday in January of 2012. It was not easy, and Ruth was dealing with an injury, but she stuck with it and we finished together. It was the most amazing feeling (almost enough to make you forgot the misery). I also must mention that Mary had just had a baby when we started training, and would have to meet her husband in the middle of our long runs (and the actual marathon at mile 13) to nurse the baby! Total rock star! Thank you to all of you for the experience.
Puppy Endo
Now I must pay tribute to my marathon training partner for my last two marathons, Chicago (2014) and Disney again (2018). I ran Chicago for Team Paws Chicago, an animal rescue charity, in Sierra's honor after I had to say goodbye to her at the age of 16 in February of 2014. She was my first dog that I got in veterinary school and she was the most loyal and sweetest. I will always love her, but I have to say Endo was just the best worst dog ever and I don't know if we will ever get over losing her. She had the biggest personality and was the sweetest, funniest dog. And her biggest love was food and her biggest hate was squirrels (and the neighbors cat, Buster). All fourteen years we spent with her was great, minus the chewing on all our furniture, CDs, DVDs, etc as a puppy and the constant stealing of food from the counter and pantry and breaking into the trash can her entire life until the very end. Seriously the worst dog ever in the best way.
Endo and I on a run
When I trained for Chicago I started taking her out just to see how she would do, and she ended up running every single run with me. When I got up to my 20 mile runs, I would do 13 miles with her, 4 miles with Charlie (he was also a very good boy that we miss), and then another 3 miles with Endo. She LOVED running and would still be sprinting after squirrels at the end of the runs, which was super fun for me after running 17+ miles. She then helped me train for the Disney Marathon when I ran it in 2018. She was almost 11 years old, but still could do up to 16 miles with me. She really never knew her limitations, which was amazing and heartbreaking at the same time. The first time I had to run without her, the look on her face when I left her broke my heart. Even in her last year she would still try to run, go down steep embankments, and follow Nick when he walked across downed trees over creeks. I had to hold her back by her harness, and she would really be pulling me with her 80+ pounds (no she wasn't fat no matter what the family says).
One of the reasons I haven't signed up for a marathon was because I no longer had my training partner. I still drive by some of the places I would run with her and miss her so much. I will remember her on every run and try to sprint when I see squirrels. I love you Endo.
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