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!