Dear Mr. Burnside, I did it!

I became a runner 15 years ago when I joined the Cross-Country team as a freshman at New Trier High School.

Pete Burnside was one of our coaches who focused primarily on coaching the freshman. He was an older man, probably in his 60's at the time, and had one of the most gentle hearts I have ever seen.

My friends and I didn't take our sport very seriously. Most of the time, we would run with the group around the corner, or until we were out of the eyesight of our coaches, and then sit on the sidewalk and talk until we re-joined the group on their way back in!

I joined the team because my parents told me that I had to choose some sort of after-school activity to get involved in and Cross-Country was a non-cut sport, meaning that anyone could do it. I had played basketball in 7th grade but aside from that, had never been very athletic. I went to a very competitive high school and knew that if I wanted to participate in sports, it would have to be one that didn't require try-outs.

Needless to say, I wasn't very dedicated to running in the beginning. Frankly, I hated it! I was much more interested in partying and all things social in high school so the early morning Saturday meets really interfered with my late-night lifestyle!

It certainly wasn't rare for me to come in dead last at any given Cross-Country meet, trudging myself along each of the 2 long, arduous miles of the course, most of the time ending in tears of pain and exhaustion. I remember one time, I was so far behind everyone else that they closed the course down and left the finish line because they thought the race was over! My Dad was quick to point out to them that there was still one runner left who was going to finish the race. My parents both came to every meet and I have fond memories of my Dad walking along side of me while I "ran", giving me the kind of support and encouragement that only a parent can. Thanks, Mom and Dad!

My whole high-school running career wasn't as pathetic as I am making it sound - these stories mostly chronicle my freshman year on the team and I tell them to invoke good humor.

For some inexplicable reason, I decided to join the Cross-Country team again my sophomore year and this time I tried a little bit harder. It still wasn't a priority in my life but I did want to improve and I didn't want to feel like a quitter, like running had conquered me. That year, I ran a bit stronger and started to see improvement. I experienced the triumph of clocking a Personal Record (PR) and started to enjoy myself a little bit more.

I ran Cross-Country for one more season, my junior year, but ended after that. It wasn't until my freshman year in college that I started running again and kicked-off my career as a long-distance runner.

Since then, I've asked myself many times, what was it that kept me running in high school when all I thought I wanted to do was stop? The only answer that seems to make sense to me now is support and encouragement.

My parents were with me every step of the way and so was Pete Burnside.

Mr. Burnside saw me struggle with running at each and every meet. Often, he and my dad would talk at length on those Saturday mornings and he paid close attention to each of us on the course. He also paid attention to us at practice so eventhough we thought we were pulling one over on him, I'm sure he knew about our sitting around the corner trick.

The magic was that he didn't get mad. He didn't ever yell at us or berate our performance. If that had happened, I don't think I would have come back. Instead, he believed in us and our potential and encouraged us to just keep going. He kept me going for 3 years but also now for 15. Because of his gentle demeanor, spirit and support, I became a runner at heart.

As I passed through a water station at mile 23 of my first marathon yesterday, one of the station volunteers handed me a cup and said, "It's all about heart now"... And he was right. The heart of a runner is strong, committed and enduring.

Running isn't always about getting there first. It is more about the road you had to take to get there. I finished the course in 4 hours and 15 minutes and each time I started to think about crossing the finish line, I made myself come back to the actual place I was in at that moment and savor and relish that experience while it lasted.

Of course, runners always want to do their best but it's such a personal experience that you are only as competitive as you want to be. 15 years ago, I didn't want to compete but for some reason, I still wanted to run. 8 or 9 years ago, I did want to compete and trained myself to become a competitive, medal-winning half-marathoner. Today, I just want to run and experience the joy of going places I have never gone before, and prove to myself that what wasn't achieved yesterday can still be achieved today or tomorrow.

I like to have the freedom to choose how hard I push or how much I dedicate myself to any activity or sport in my life, meaning that I like to get there on my own. If my coaches had come down too hard on me and my performance, it could have run me right off of the team. Instead, Mr. Burnside was able to instill the true values and principles of running into my heart so that I could access them when I was really ready to use them. It is a gift for which I am truly grateful.

For me, success in running was simply a matter of priority. In high school, I had higher priorities than running. In college, the opposite was true and I was more successful. What I believe today is that health and fitness need to be a priority for every one of us. As technologies develop that make our lives more comfortable and convenient, we don't have the luxury to choose not to exercise or eat right. Our bodies and our health will pay for it.

We can all be athletes at heart and runners are a perfect example. Out of the 20,000 people who ran in the marathon yesterday, there were people of all ages, shapes and sizes and most everyone ran all 26.2 miles. We all became athletes because we decided to make running a marathon a priority in our lives.

All of us can access our inner athlete if we decide we want to, and I would highly encourage it. My husband David is developing an amazing system that gives anyone and everyone an easy way to access their inner athlete. Details can be found on the web site: www.bosufitness.com and will be shared more fully in the days and weeks to come.

So Mr. Burnside, I wish I knew where you were today. If I could tell you that I finished a marathon in 4:15, I know you would be proud!

I also know that you'd tell me, "I knew that you could do it."