I have always had the hope to help and inspire others. Big or small, in life sometimes we all need a little help.
I was on my second leg of Hood to Coast, the long-distance, overnight relay race across Oregon. Stars were shining brightly in the otherwise dark sky, and I wanted to get the rolling, 7.25-mile leg over with as fast as possible.
About five miles into the run, I passed a girl and asked kindly how she was doing. “All right,” she responded. I ran past her, but it wasn’t long before she caught back up to me. Her name was Noella, she was from Uganda and this was her first Hood to Coast. She was starting to get tired, but I encouraged her to hang in there and told her to stay with me so we could finish the leg together. Running in the dark is much easier when you have someone by your side.
Before I knew it, she was high-fiving me and thanking me for pushing her through the longest leg in our set of three. One more to go. I wished Noella good luck and figured I wouldn’t see her again. Over 12,000 runners participate in Hood to Coast, so the chances of meeting again were slim.
But the next morning, as I was waiting to start my third and final leg, I saw Noella. She was also waiting for her teammate to tag her, so she could start this last leg of the run. According to my watch, she started her leg eight minutes before I did, and I made a mental note that I would never catch up to her.
The third leg is usually the hardest — but the most invigorating. You’ve already run two legs, gotten very little sleep, if any, and you just want to get it over with. That third leg was 5.89 miles, twisting and turning through country roads somewhere in Oregon, en route to Seaside.
My Garmin — that’s a handheld GPS device — told me I had about two miles left. Up ahead I noticed a girl who looked very tired, and was walking up a hill. I shouted ahead of me, “Noella, is that you?”
“I can’t believe it,” she turned around and said. “Every time I get tired, there you are.”
I ran up to her and encouraged her to run with me. “Stay with me,” I said. She was tired, she said, but she would try. I told her she could do it, that she was strong and she could do anything for the next few minutes. “We are getting so close,” I told her. The pain was temporary but the feeling when we finish would be incredible! I told her about my recent Boston Marathon and encouraged her to run a marathon someday. “It will change your life,” I said.
At one point, she stopped running and told me to go ahead. “No! Keep running!” I demanded. “You got this, girl. You are amazing!” I encouraged her to stay with me, and I kept her updated on our pace and that we were getting close to being done.
Noella thanked me for pushing her and running with her. I explained that there had been times when I was the one who needed to be pushed along the way when it got hard, and that I hoped someday she could pay it forward.
Up ahead, I could see our goal and told Noella we only had a quarter mile to go. I led her, picked up the pace and told her she was running even faster now, and that we would soon be done. She gave it her all, and soon we were there, hugging and high-fiving once again. A friend from my team snapped our picture, and I promised Noella I would email her a copy.
First thing Monday morning, I sent her an email with our picture, and told her how much she inspired me and that it was a blessing that our paths crossed not once, but twice. I had never felt better after finishing my third leg of Hood to Coast, all because of her.
It was Noella’s email back to me that brought tears to my eyes. She explained that a childhood friend of hers was recently murdered. She had told her team about her friend, and said that whenever she felt tired, she knew her guardian angel would be there to push her through.
She wrote: “I told my team that if it got hard to run at some point, my little angel would carry me through, and you showed up. Twice!”
Life is truly amazing. The threads we weave, the paths we cross and the people we encounter along the way. Noella thanked me for pushing her through the hard parts and inspiring her to hang in there. It reminded me of the angels in my life who stayed by my side and wouldn’t let me give up when things got tough. I think we should all strive to be that person who pays it forward. Even if it’s only one tiny step at a time.
Noella, you will always hold a special place and a golden memory in my heart. Pay it forward, my friend.
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