“I am slow, I have fought my little voice, and I have won.”

I’m coming off a lousy night of editing into the wee hours. I’m drinking my usual glass of low hanging fruit (world’s greatest name for cheap wine) and peeking at margarine, when i see the pending quote above. it’s amazing.

her name is sarah. She has a blog.

Here’s her story, in her words.

—

HI.

My name is Sarah. I have CF (Cystic Fibrosis). I share that same introduction with so many people, I won’t even give you a count.

We are the people who leave parties or events to go do treatments, yes, I may have an extra glass of wine at home, but I am sucking up albuterol while I stare at water condensing on my glass.

Yea, I know. I shouldn’t tell you I have a glass of wine in front of me while I do my treatments. I also shouldn’t ever put onto paper I went to wine club instead of run 3 miles. . . but I did.

I have made life choices that have landed me where I am at, in this very moment. I wish I could tell you I would trade my low lung function, but, honestly without it, I would never have put on a pair of running shoes. I never would have met some of the most inspirational runners, who happen to have CF out there (who qualify for Boston BTW).

Some day, I want to write a book, tell my story. It isn’t glamorous, it is pretty average. I am not amazing, I just keep living. I don’t try as hard as other people, I wish I did, I wish I had the courage and strength they possess.  I think I have a very realistic look at what life is like for an average person living with something that is trying to kill them on a daily basis.

Here I am. My name is Sarah, I am a runner, I love people, I love to craft, I have a heart for hurting people, I love to serve others, being a Barista makes me smile, I work at a Children’s Museum and it has been more challenging (in a good way) than any other job I have worked, I love Texas, I enjoy every moment (even the hard ones) of my marriage, I love my best friends, I love my running partners, I love to run alone, I love to encourage people, I LOVE TO SMILE, I am loud, I am rowdy, I say things I shouldn’t, I love cats, I embrace the weird in people and myself, I look for the positive in all people, I have the best parents ever, and I have CF.

In no particular order, this is my life, but CF is never at the top. It has given me an outlook I would not have otherwise, but it is not the only thing I am.

—

So she loves Texas, coffee, cats and running. That’s pretty much all I would need to know to sign up her as the coolest person in the world. But she also has an adversity that she chooses to make just a footnote in her life.

No one can make you feel inferior without your consent, Eleanor Roosevelt said. Got a situation that causes you to run a little slower? You run a little slower. I’ve got a monkey heart that doesn’t have a second gear. Stop running? No chance. Sarah has a lung problem. Sidelines? Hell, no.

Her amazing blog is the tale of a fighter. Someone who already has beaten the odds. I wouldn’t bet against her. She hasn’t posted in a while. Maybe she just needs a proper kick in the butt. Maybe this is it.

“When you are struggling, you want to meet the people who have struggled and come out on the other side,” she wrote. She was writing about other peeps with Cystic Fibrosis, but that quote is the essence of running as well. Aren’t we all looking for those stories of folks who have endured the bad moments in a race and came out on the other side? It never always gets worse, the old ultra saying goes. We learn from each other. Our victories. Our setbacks. Our challenges. They all make us who we are.

She reposted the “winning” post because she’s a back-of-the-packer like me (although I saw the time for a half marathon she ran that was way faster than mine this weekend. showoff!) She’s a lot like me, working with the hand she was dealt. And not afraid to sneak an occasional card off the bottom of the deck.

I stayed up way too late reading her entire blog. You should too. It’s a great story. I hope there are many more chapters ahead. Thanks, Sarah. See you at the races …