Disney.com
Judy Hughes & her daughter
Congratulations to my determined and athletic cousins Robbie Hughes, Carrie Hughes and Judy Hughes who ran for a combined 65.5 miles this weekend at the Disney Half-Marathon and Marathon! These fancy fitness fanatics who I love so much impressed the hell out of their fitness pro cousin (me) by trudging through the unusually sleet covered Florida roads to accomplish 13.1 miles this Saturday.
Carrie, mother of four, apparently didn’t find Saturday’s half-marathon challenging enough though; she laced up her sneakers again on Sunday to show the full marathon who was boss! The Disney Marathon was also full of a few more people that I love. My friends (chosen-family-members), Amy and Rob Comesanas, romantically ran their first 26.2 mile distance together as well. Wow! I’ve enjoyed stories (good and bad) about their training experiences over the past few months and am truly thrilled that they stuck it out.
Runs of these lengths are legitimately fantastic fitness accomplishments. To prove this point, I encourage you to think about all the people you know who could even run five miles. I bet your group isn’t huge, right? Running a half or full marathon is a big deal and everyone who crosses the finish line should feel incredibly proud. Will you be next?
Training for a race requires a wise plan, dedication, perseverance and a tremendous spirit. Notice I didn’t say it was required for you to be great shape. An elite fitness level will come as a result of your graduated training program. You don’t have to be thin, you don’t have to be strong. You just have to be willing to choose an appropriate training program and stick to it! My family did and they made this weekend magical! To sign up for a marathon or another athletic event at Disney World, click here.
Congratulations Amy, Carrie, Judy, Rob and Robbie! I love you all and am so proud!
Congrats to all of them — what a great accomplishment. I consider myself super lucky to be able to count tons of people who can run five miles (and, in many cases, far more). It inspires me, and lets me know I can’t slack off — none of them are going to be terribly impressed if I run a short distance, so I need to keep pushing myself, you know?