The Storyteller: Joan Benoit Samuelson

My philosophy on running is, I don't dwell on it, I do it." -Joan Benoit Samuelson

This quote sums it up perfectly!!!!

At the 26.2 with Donna Marathon, I had the privilege to interview a racing legend.  Joan Benoit Samuelson is an amazing inspiration to women's athletics and a role model to many runners all over the world. Do not let her small frame or quiet demeanor fool you. She is fierce, determined, and full of drive.
Joan Benoit Samuelson won Gold at the first Women's Marathon at the 1984 Olympics. She has won the Boston Marathon several times, and has a personal record that matches mine (at the halfway point of a marathon- just kidding I can get halfway a little faster than her 2:21 PR but its close).

She is fast yes indeed, but when I sat down to chat about the greatness of her accomplishments I was surprised at the humble laid back tone she had. I asked the typical questions of how do you train on your runs, what do you eat during your run, and how many miles a week do you run? There was a calm sense about her that comes from many many miles of thinking I believe. She is so intuned to her body and her soul that most of the answers to my 'running' questions were, "I run how I feel that day". It was remarkable to look at the greatest female runner of all time and just see such intuitiveness to her self. I am not sure what I was expecting, but it was wonderful to not hear a magic formula for being faster. She is from Maine and my fellow ambassador friend, Elisabeth, was from the next town over from Joan's hometown in Maine. She remembers as a kid seeing Joan run through town.

One thing I learned about Joan, that we have in common, was she LOVES a story! She and I both agree that storytelling is a lost art. She has many of them from running with her brothers in her childhood to a broken bone that ended her downhill ski racing dreams. The story does not end there though, the ski racing may have ended but the door then opened for her running adventure. I love the way that each door that may close in a persons life can open another that leads us to something even better than we could have dreamed possible.

Joan has run all over the world decked out in Nike gear. She runs in Pegs my second favorite Nike shoe! (I love my Structures). Some of her proudest moments were when she was in Tacoma, WA, near where I live for the Olympic time trials. She was also able to run the Boston Marathon with her daughter 30 years after winning it. She also voiced her desire to tell the "story" of the 50 year old that ran a sub-2:50 marathon and DID! Then, there was running the NYC marathon that came 25 years after her Olympic win so that story needed to be told too. I believe it is how she stays so inspired to run all these years. When it is attached to an emotion, a memory, or it is given some extra significance it make the experience and passion that much greater. I think this is my favorite quality that Joan possesses. Sure, I love any runner with the mental and physical strength to do what she has done in life, but I think at the end of the day she will have a collection of meaningful memories and experiences to go along with some beautiful shiny medals.

My lessons learned from Joan

1. LISTEN to your body!
   It is the only one you get so be in-tune with it. Know when you can push and when you need to rest. Your body knows what to do so take care of it.

2. Be HUMBLE! You don't have to be fast to be amazing. Runners are all the same at heart. Some are  just blessed with quicker feet than others, but the reality is we all KNOW something in our souls that others who do not run may not know. We know how to motivate ourselves in a way that many can't understand. We go out in rain, snow, hot, and cold to hit the streets mentally solving all of the worlds problems. I believe what that does is then creates this internal confidence and drive that people then translate to everyday life. Crazy...no way just amazing!

3. NIKE really is the best brand on the planet. :)  Seriously, I love them and so does Joan so that must mean something!!

4. OBSTACLES make us that much stronger. No matter what door closes in front of you there will always be another one that will lead to something amazing!! I look at all the "greats" in life. They have all overcome some struggle. If you have not overcome something then you can't learn from it, pick yourself up, and go back and try again. The more of these amazing greats that I meet, the more I find they all have this quality in common.

3. Life is a collection of STORIES! Tell them! Don't let the stories from your past get stuck there. We are such a tech based world these days and this art of telling that story is becoming a lost art. Talk, write, and share the great adventures of your life.

Here is another one of my favorite quotes I found from Joan:

"Years ago, women sat in kitchens drinking coffee and discussing life. Today, they cover the same topics while they run." -Joan Benoit Samuelson



***Joan has no idea, but I feel meeting her is one of the reasons I went to Florida.  Before I left for the race I was unsure as to why I felt such a strong desire to go on this trip. I really didn't have the extra income to trek across the country at the time, but I felt pulled to go. It was the same way I felt pulled to go to the race in Athens, Greece. At the time I had no idea why, but now I see exactly how the trip fit in perfectly to the little plan and path ahead of me. This trip will be one of those moments in my mind that a year from now I will say, "none of this would have happened if I had not went to 26.2 with Donna weekend"! I can't tell you much more yet because these ideas are still rolling around, but I promise it is BIG and having this conversation with Joan sparked the new adventure. For that I am grateful to her and her amazingly fast legs!

Donna 26.2 Part 2

As I told you before, this weekend was a mix of many emotions. I loved feeling each and every one of them. It makes me human.

Day 3:The 5K
Your Pace or Mine. That was the phrase I heard for miles. My friend and fellow ambassador Elisabeth is a crafty genius. She created a giant candy heart costume to run in and was the highlight of the 5K. She had so many come up and ask to take pictures with her and brought so many smiles. Ambassador Krissy, the crazy pink swimsuit shark girl, also joined us on our run.  There was a sea of pink and a wonderful costume contest filled with great costumes from a little sushi boy to the 1st place winner "hands free self breast exam" (somehow I don't have a pic of her sorry). Elisabeth and her candy heart got 2nd place in the contest!

We had a wonderful fun filled 3.1 miles. There was the warm up led by  ex- Jacksonville Jaguar David Garrard and his trainers. The warm up was great but watching a giant heart try to attempt squats was hilarious. The race was great and my favorite part was running along the river area on the trail they had. I could see myself running here everyday. I am serious. I fell in love with the community of Jacksonville this weekend and the beautiful city and coastline they see each day only magnify this need to live there. We will see one day... :)
The pink was outta control and I loved it. It was awesome to see so many survivor bibs and hear about so many running a 5K for the first time. As soon as I crossed the finish line, I was grabbed by a reporter and interviewed for the news. It was great to share my love for the rallying of this community and my passion for ending cancer with the Florida news. Plus you know me, any reason to be on tv :)
You may wonder why I have a shirt on that says Chemo Princess. This shirt was given to me on one of MY chemo sessions and I wore it on one of my last chemo appointments with a Joe Dirt mullet wig just to make the Cancer Center gals here laugh and my mother so embarrassed. I did have to get my costume in a 50 lb suitcase so its definitely not as crazy cool, but for me it was like a big middle finger to the chemo chair I sat in only 5 years ago!!

Day 3 evening: Mayo Dinner
WOW....I left this dinner in tears. They were tears of joy, hope, and pride. I was so thankful to be a part of this trip but after this dinner I was thankful to be a part of CHANGING HISTORY!!! The Mayo Clinic is changing the face of cancer and changing history because of THIS RACE and a gal with a vision (Donna Deegan). We were fortunate enough to tour the lab where the research is being conducted and genes are being manipulated to create vaccines. There is a vaccine headed to trial to help with one of the most difficult types of cancers, triple negative breast cancer. I am in awe of how THIS race started THIS research off only 8 years ago. They are like NO other lab in the country because they work DIRECTLY with their patients and doctors across the street.
The Mayo Clinic is changing the game over the last few years and this will only spread the change into all other types of cancers and treatments. It really is mind blowing!!
You know I have to talk food too....yum yum yum! The food was all scientifically created with our big race in mind the next morning. It was delicious and the carb load needed to fuel up for the big day.

The research was amazing and hearing about the advancements that have been made but Michelle stole the show at the end of the night. Michelle is a cancer survivor and recipient of the Donna Foundation funds. The Donna Foundation donates to the Mayo for research, but the also help local women that are battling with various financial needs. This is so important for these women. They are battling cancer and the last thing they should be worrying about is trying to work more so they can pay bills. Michelle came up and told us a story of how she found out she had cancer. She was scheduled for a surgery Monday and received a heart breaking phone call on the Friday prior to surgery. They informed her that yes indeed she had cancer and needed the tumor removed in surgery, but they would NOT do the surgery unless her financial portion was covered prior to the surgery. Now imagine hearing you have a life threatening disease but then hearing they are going to leave it in you unless you come up with  a large amount of money....unbelievable!! The story does not end here though because even in our darkest of moments there is ALWAYS that glimmer of hope. Michelle's glimmer of hope was the Donna Foundation. This was her Hail Mary pass to the end zone right here. She called the Donna Foundation on FRIDAY evening. Just as fate would have it the director was still there and to Michelle's delight answered the phone. She explained her story over the phone and heard a reassuring voice tell her not to worry. By MONDAY morning the Donna Foundation had helped Michelle get the surgery she needed and some other life expenses taken care of. There was not a dry eye in the house. It was not so much Michelle's amazing story of 'hope in the final hour' type of story that she had that made me cry. Michelle had and still has the most amazing attitude on life. I know from first hand experience that your attitude predicts your future happiness/success. I was so grateful afterwards to stick around and chat briefly with this amazing individual.

I will definitely be getting in touch with Michelle and sharing her live story on my future project....the How to find and create Happiness in your life PODCAST that I am working on......oops did I just reveal a HUGE secret to those of you reading this. :) Why yes I did but hey that's the pirk of you reading my blog...breaking news here first!!

At the close of Day 3 I am tired but thankful to God for this opportunity to be involved in this weekend and I have thanked him several times too!  I can now with 100% certainty say that I MADE A DIFFERENCE IN THE WORLD OF CANCER!
 I am proud to be in this group and am beginning at this point to understand the "WHY" of the reason



I was picked for this race. It doesn't fully make sense until the end of the trip..................................... so stay tuned for Part 3 for the BIG RACE RECAP!!!! Coming soon

Donna Race Video

Donna Race Video

Off to the Donna 26.2 Part 1

Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.

Carl Sagan 

What a trip! Six months ago I knew life would change on this week in Florida. It sure did and I can't wait to see what new adventures are in store for me now. This trip was one of those moments that a year from now I will look back and say "This only happened because I went to the Donna 26.2 Marathon".

Let me back up a bit....

Here is me, well me about 5 years ago now. I found out at the young age of 30 that I had Stage 2B Breast Cancer. I fought hard and won the battle. Oh what a battle it was...just go back to the posts from 2010 to check out that journey. After I beat cancer I decided to make a Bucket List. Run a marathon was on the top of the list. I googled it and randomly picked a plan. I trained for months by myself and finally in October 2012 went to my first race. (Now all of these stories are here on the blog if you are interested in more of the story) I was waiting patiently in the corner of the room at the expo to shake the hand of a former Olympian and race legend, Jeff Galloway. As I stood waiting I saw on the table a sign up to "Win a Trip to run the Original Marathon course in Athens, Greece". I thought, "why not" and signed up never to think of this again. About 8 months or so later I get a phone call from Mr. Galloway's office and I WON! Yeah I know who wins out of millions of people a trip to Greece! Well I DID! That trip also is highlighted in the blog if you would like to check it out.

On  my trip to Greece I met Jeff Galloway's right hand man, Chris Twiggs. We chatted at length one day and he said I needed to come to Florida and run the Donna 26.2 Marathon to help battle breast cancer. I said I would add to my bucket list and headed back to the states.

When I returned I looked it up on facebook and clicked like only thinking that one day I would head out and try this race. 

Little did I know that a few months later there would be a post to become a Donna Ambassador. I applied and thought again, "why not" they may pick me....and sure enough THEY DID!

Here I am processing this week that I just spent in Jacksonville, Florida and I am filled with every emotion that one can have. I always say the best part of being human and happy is feeling them all. 

Day 1: Planes, Trains, and Automobiles 

Travel travel and more travel. When you go across the country you spend the whole day on planes and in cars. Lucky for me one of my amazing new ambassador friends, Katie, was passing by the airport and was kind enough to pick me up and take me to my hotel where I then crashed for the day! Before the crash we got to chat and I immediately got the sense of pride that I was allowed to be on this team of amazing people.

Day 2: Shakeout Run and Expo

This was my first opportunity to meet many of the other Ambassadors. I was not staying down on the beach (but I will next year!!) so my roommate and fellow ambassador, Shannon came by on her way to town to get me at the hotel. It was really hard for me to be so dependent on others for rides and to get me to the events. I was hoping the hotel would have had a shuttle, a bus system that made sense, or some other way of getting around. It was a challenge for sure, but the other ambassadors were amazing when it came to helping this gal that was a long way from home feel comfortable. Now the hotel is a whole other blog post lol and some of you have heard the drama with the hotel room. It was minor in comparison to the great things that were happening on this trip!  I was off to the beach to run the shake out bright and early.  I was so excited to have a nice 3 mile run through the cute beachy neighborhood on this breezy morning. The weather could not have been more perfect with the cool start and tank top finish.  The run was a small but amazing group of runners. It included Women's Gold Medalist in the Marathon Joan Benoit Samuelson, the Boston Marathon Race director Dave McGillivray, Olympian Jeff Galloway, race founder Donna Deegan, our 2015 Ambassador crew and many more amazing people. This run allowed me to chat and meet my now great new friends. I also was finally able to thank in person Mr. Jeff Galloway for his gracious gift of my Greece trip, the trip that changed my life!

The expo was huge, filled with PINK, many sponsors handing out some great must have items. I love my new little shoe wallet and my pink shaker cup! I am still in awe how a community as large as Jacksonville comes together to make this happen. They work together to make this race amazing and the spirit behind the race is unmatched from what I have seen so far. At my packet pick up I went into a whole separate area to easily get my bibs for the 5K and the Marathon. At the expo I was privileged enough to sign one of the 6 large sized boards that would later be placed on the beach during the half and full marathon section that ran the coastline. They read LOVE, COURAGE, FAITH, FINISH, STRENGTH, and HOPE. I signed the LOVE one with a message to all my friends, "For all my friends that have battled: Love to you all-Holly Boyce, 5 year survivor!"

I was also able to interview 2 amazing individuals. I interviewed Donna Deegan the founder of the race and the Donna Foundation. (more on the interview coming)  I also interviewed Joan Benoit Samuelson the amazing Olympic Gold Medalist! (more on this interview coming too). These women are inspiring, dedicated, and driven beyond the ability of most. It was a privilege to be in their company and to ask them the hows of how they got to where they are. I left each of these interviews feeling inspired to achieve my dreams and like anything was possible with hard work and perseverance. All of the 'greats' have struggled and they used their struggle to become amazing. It felt like a dream to be able to be a part of these events and the big race hadn't even come yet!

VIP cocktail party was wonderful with great food and drinks. It was a wonderful opportunity to meet my fellow ambassadors and get to know them all a little better. I even met an awesome ambassador from my home state of Missouri. Reist and Andrea not only are from Missouri but they even know people in my tiny hometown too! Who knew you could travel across the country to meet up with people you have never met and have such connections. I spent a lot of time reliving my Missouri life and times with this great couple and hearing 'why' they run the race each year. 

Some amazing moments and it is only the close of day 2!