Run to Overcome

This past weekend a group of friends came together to run in honor of a friend we lost to suicide early this year. The Run to Overcome is in it's 2nd year and it's goal is suicide awareness. We convened in full Bronco's gear (Ben's favorite team!) A group of people who still miss our friend who is gone too soon:

 Our little crew. We had just driven in town from a little vacay about an hour earlier. Tired, but enthusiastic:

 The course was an out and back course. I had already turned around and wasn't far from finishing before I saw Mark and his high school bestie and the kidddos. I still laugh thinking about it because the only people behind them had canes and oxygen machines (no, seriously!!!) Here they are near the finish:

 I'll keep my personal race recap brief because I don't want to fly my freak flag too high. 

Okay, so I was beat. Like exhausted, I've been eating bad on vacay and not sleeping sort of exhausted. BUT, I still had set the goal of not walking at all. I've done a handful of races and always walk for a few minutes after about 2 miles. Welp, at about 2.25 miles I was done. Gas tank empty. I decided to turn on Matisyahu's "One Day" on repeat (one of Ben's favorite songs, also the song played at his funeral). I started crying thus dealing with heavy breathing and a huge lump in my throat...not a good combo. But, I felt Ben there. [Here comes the freak card] I mean, he was there. No denying it, can't convince me differently. When I crossed that finish line without walking I just bawled. I cried because we miss him, I cried because I finished without walking but I cried most of all because God gave me 10 minutes with Ben.