Last year, while out for a 5 mile run, training for a half marathon, I had made my turn for home. There, waving so majestically with a beuatiful blue sky behind it, was Old Glory. Even though I had seen that same flag before, for some reason this time, it made me start thinking how grateful I was to be able to be out running on some country road, with no worries of being shot at or told I couldn't be where I was, doing what I was doing. I think alot during my runs, and this time was no different. There seemed to be alot of turmoil in our country at the time (still is) yet something inside me as an American did not want me to lose hope of the great country it started out to be. Sure there are problems, sure there are so many differences between the citizens who live here...but that's the glory of it. We are allowed to be different! We are allowed to voice our opinions! We are allowed to be FREE! Then it hit me. There are many things that make us different, but there is one thing that unites us as Americans, and that is what that flag represents...FREEDOM! I thought more of how it feels to be at some kind of event where the Star Spangled Banner is played, and how everyone joins together to remove their caps, to cover their hearts, or to sing. For that brief moment, everyone there is united. Then I thought, how can I help to unite my fellow Americans? What could I possibly do to make any kind of a difference? The answer was waving right in front of me. I need to run a marathon carrying a flag! That's it! It was as if a lightbulb had been lit. So, I ran home to begin my journey.
And that is how it all began...
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