Chevron Houston Marathon Ambassadorship

 When my beloved hometown marathon, the Chevron Houston Marathon, advertised that they were accepting applications for marathon ambassadorship, I promptly began work on my application. Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things Houston, running, and the Chevron Houston Marathon. There is something so magical about the way the entire city of Houston, the fourth largest city in the U.S., comes together on marathon weekend. I feel a part of something so much bigger than myself on marathon weekend. I feel connected to my city and to my fellow runners. It’s really an inexplicable feeling I have on race weekend. The best way I can describe it is that it’s magic.

So, I poured myself into the application process. I carefully considered each portion of the application and thoroughly enjoyed contemplating each question. The questions on the application reflected ideas that I often ponder and write about. Things like, what inspires me to run, what are my main running goals, what is it about the Chevron Marathon weekend that appeals to me, how important is the running community to me, etc. These questions are at the core of why we all run, aren’t they? For, the split times, form, breathing, foot strike, heart rate, etc. is the actual running and we pay close attention to those things in an effort to improve, certainly, but that’s not what keeps runners running, is it? No. It’s the community, It’s how we are inspired. It’s our desire to inspire others. It’s the overwhelming sense of togetherness we feel on race day. It’s our desire to improve ourselves. It’s the satisfaction we feel when we accomplish our goals. It’s the feeling of being fit, strong, and capable. It’s the mental toughness we gain from doing hard things. It’s the satisfaction of pushing past where we thought our limits were. It’s our desire to cheer others on, for we know how hard running is. It’s the way we tear up when we think about running. Excuse me for a moment, I need a tissue.

So, I submitted my application, and I waited. And waited. And waited. In reality I only had to wait about a month, but it certainly felt like an eternity. The website informed me that I’d be notified one way or the other on April 11th. Good. I had an explicit endpoint to my waiting. I marked the date on my calendar and I tried not to fixate on it. Until the 11th, however. On the 11th I checked my email a record amount of times. I just couldn’t stop myself. I busied myself with my work and I pushed the application out of my mind whenever it entered that space. Then, lo and behold, the email came. I nervously opened it and was thrilled to learn that I had been selected to serve as a 2017 Chevron Houston Marathon Ambassador. Me! They picked me! Words cannot express how excited I am. It is also worth mentioning here that I applied last year and was rejected. The rejection letter was very well written, I must say, and it urged me to try again the following year. Which is what I did. I also took a careful look at what makes a good ambassador. I saw, very quickly, that I simply wasn’t ready to serve as an ambassador for the 2016 season. I hadn’t immersed myself into the running community yet. So, I set out to do just that. I put all of my thoughts into writing and started this blog. I followed other runners’ journeys through social media and immediately gained inspiration and motivation from them. I became a part of the running community and words cannot express how fortunate I am to have found the running community. Had I not been rejected ambassadorship in 2016 would I be this connected with my running community? I think not.

 As an ambassador, I am most excited about becoming even more involved in the Houston running community. I get so much inspiration and motivation from my running connections on social media. The local Houston runners that I am connected with through social media are particularly special to me, as we take part in many of the same races and we feel privileged to run our hometown Chevron Houston Marathon. I look forward to making even more running connections through my ambassador platform. The running connections I have made over the last year are truly what help motivate me during the training season and throughout the entire year. I have said it many times in the past, and I am certain I will continue to say it on a regular basis, but the running community is simply the best. Runners are the most positive, encouraging people on the planet. Runners help other runners up when they’ve fallen, for we know, all too well, what it feels like to fall.

So, it is with great enthusiasm that I wholeheartedly accept my position as a 2017 Chevron Houston Marathon Ambassador.