My Marathon Journey

My Marathon Journey…26.2 miles to reclaim “ME”



Yep that’s me in December of 2008.

I feel like there should be a booming boxing ring announcer belting out: “And in this corner weighing in at 224 miserable pounds is Kelly!”

Barely recognizable to myself anymore is that photo likeness of what I had become. Outside looking in my life was by all definitions picturesque. I had a wonderful husband (who just had celebrated 6 months cancer free), two beautiful healthy children, a brand new house in the burbs, great job, and friends and family I adore. Life was good, hell great on paper!

“ME” however- the person in that photo, was miserable with myself.

I could quote just about every excuse in the text book of 101 Reasons Why You’re Fat: I had just had a baby 4 months earlier, mind you our bundle of joy only weighed in at 7 pounds-- where’d the other 70 come from? I’m too busy to cook healthy, I work full time! Plus healthy food is just so expensive, we’re on a budget. My metabolism has just slowed down since having kids. You know your body is never the same after you have kids anyway. Probably my personal fave--I’m an emotional eater. So I just ate & ate for comfort when my husband was diagnosed with cancer while we were 5 months pregnant with our second child. All those cheetos and ice-cream were sure to make him & my soul better. Ha-ha!!!

Sound familiar? The truth is, are you ready for it? I WAS JUST PLAIN LAZY. Period, end of story. I love food, good rich heavy food, junk food, instant gratification food-who doesn’t? It tastes GOOD and I ate A LOT of it!! All that other crap was just excuses, ways to talk myself into believing that this was how life would be now, this was how I would look and feel………oh yeah and that would be okay.

Know what? I’m not an OK kinda gal. OK is not good enough for me. You know why?
I DESERVE BETTER than OKAY.

So I decided to get off my *kitten* and do something about the way I felt. Because the way I felt was negatively affecting everything in my life. I just wasn’t happy and it showed. I talked it over with my support structure. My husband, my friends, my mom and my boss- they were all incredibly supportive. That alone made me feel better about taking time for ME. Not an easy concept for this working mom of two little ones! I already had Mommy guilt about being away at work all day. Now I was going to add another hour away from my family a day to exercise?! I had to re-teach myself that "I" was worth the time. It was more than OKAY to put myself back on my perpetual type A to-do list!

In January of 2009 I joined the gym, signed up for a biggest loser type challenge, stared eating better and got moving. Slowly but surely new habits replaced old ones and better choices were made day by day. I learned there is no magic pill, no quick fix surgical procedure that were going to get me healthy. I had to do it the good old fashioned way, eating right and exercising. Boring--- I know but highly effective

As a group we were encouraged to do Charleston, SC's local 10K Race in the spring- the Cooper River Bridge run. I had to Google how far 10K was~~~HOLY HELL, 6.2 miles! I was by no means a runner. Our trainer would put us on the treadmill and I would run for a minute or two at a time and it was really hard! But I was determined to try to do this race with my team. I trained, run/walking on the treadmill. I even got up to running about 5 minutes at a time, which was a big accomplishment for me. Race day came & I ran/walked and finished that 10K race a new woman! There was something so special about completing that run with 40,000 people all moving toward the same goal. Our biggest loser challenge ended shortly after. I had won our team slimming down 26.6 pounds! That was more than enough motivation to say…….hmmm what can I do next?!

Train for another 10K run of course, and this time talk hubby into running with me! Easy enough, just find a 10K run at Disney World (his favorite place)! He had been motivated by my success to get moving as well so this was the perfect getaway weekend for us as a couple. Life had come full circle it seemed, instead of going on vacation to relax, we were going on vacation to RUN?!

In October of 2009 we both did the WDW Race for the Taste & finished that 10K in some record Florida heat. I was down another 25 pounds and he lost 20 in the process of training as well!




I had been bitten by the running bug. I was feeling great about myself. I had more energy than I had in years and I was HAPPY! The thing about always having another race to train for is you have to keep moving. Guess what happens when you stay active and eat healthy? The weight just keeps coming off! Best part is you FEEL AMAZING!

With all this new found vigor I decided to set another goal for myself. As a good friend of mine says you have to “keep moving forward”. This time I wanted to test myself to see if I could go farther, I decided to train for a half marathon- 13.1 miles, the next milestone in the running world.



Here I am in October of 2010. Myrtle Beach Mini-Marathon, finisher’s medal in hand, and at GOAL weight, 157 pounds. See that smile—that’s what grinning ear to ear looks like!



Best thing about it, hubby did it too! He loves to tell people I’ve dragged him along on this running journey & he’s really “not a runner”. Anybody who runs is a runner I tell him! He says he runs for the trips to go places, the t-shirts & the free beer at the end

I finished a half marathon, you think I could sit still? Of course not, now I had to see if I could finish a FULL Marathon, 26.2 miles?! Of course I had to try. So I registered for the Rock and Roll Marathon in Savannah, Georgia in November of 2011.



Here I am finisher’s medal in hand after ROCKIN’ IT OUT for 26.2 miles!

I now have a magnet on my fridge that says:
At mile 20 I thought I was dead.
At mile 22 I wished that I was dead.
At mile 24 - I knew that I was dead
At mile 26.2 - I knew that I had become too tough to kill!
RUN LIKE A MOTHER!

If anyone would have told me when I started this journey to reclaim “ME” that it would include me running a marathon, I would have told them they were straight up nuts, hell possibly certifiable. I had no idea how running would change me, inspire me, move me and motivate me to become a better “ME”.

~I have found strength in the long hours of training, not just in the muscles I have honed; but in the dedication to get out there and do my miles, even when I didn’t want to.
~I have found clarity in the long hours of running that no amount of therapy about my self worth would ever have unearthed.
~I have found that carving out that time for exercise isn’t taking time away from my family, or being a bad wife & Mommy. It’s actually giving them quality time in the form of my being happy when I’m ‘in the present’ and adding years to my life health wise!
~I have found I am stronger mentally and physically than I ever thought I could be.
~I have found that being healthy and our physical bodies are gifts, what you do with that gift is up to you!

Most of all I have found “ME” again. You remember that feeling of being 7 or 8 and just running around with your friends playing at recess? You know that happy, free feeling? Try not to smile as you think of that feeling~~that’s how I feel most days now.

I ran a marathon & reclaimed myself. Now what you ask? RUN ANOTHER ONE OF COURSE!




Walt Disney World- January 2013

Hubby will be right by my side for all 26.2 miles. (Yes I've talked him into it!)
Afterward, we will celebrate our accomplishment in the parks for a few days with our kids. Happy & HEALTHY together.

That’s my fairy tale ending!

Hope sharing my journey inspires you Feel free to add me as a friend or message me if you have questions! Happy to help anyone make it along on their journey!!