I was driving down the street on Saturday and drove by a 5k race in progress. I happened to see a woman who, in my estimation, was between 250-275 approaching the finish line. She was about my height and my former size so I think the estimate is close. She was running by herself and all of her was moving and I almost cried....

I almost cried because the courage and determination on her face was so inspirational. And she wasn't jogging. You could tell she made a decision to just go for it as fast as she could the last few feet. Her form wasn't great and she was at the end of the race but her HEART was on display and it was beautiful. The sheer determination and look on her face said "I refuse to be defined by what you think." There she was an ATHLETE giving it all she had and it encouraged me to do the same. I may not be able to do it perfectly or as quickly as some but I can give it all I have. If I give my best, I've won.

I wanted to stop the car to cheer her on. As she approached the finish line, people were on their feet cheering for her!!!!! The beauty is she ran past several "skinny" girls who were watching her run by. They may have been thinner but they didn't show the courage, determination and purpose this woman had.

I started to think about all of the times I didn't exercise because I was scared of what people would think or because I was slower than others. It inspired my new running journey that I started 2 months ago.

Had to share....My heart was moved by a true ATHLETE.

Amazing! Thank you for sharing.

That's awesome.

Wow. Thanks for that.

I read somewhere that one of the top women runners ran a race somewhere in the east once at the back of the pack. Maybe Deena Kastor? She said that's an amazingly inspiring place to be. She was in tears.

thank you for this.

WOW this just made me smile!!! I hope that somewhere, she feels the positivity we are all sending her. She is a true inspiration!

I keep looking for the "like" button.

Lin

Thanks for sharing! I teared up 

How inspirational!

I'm very proud of her. What she did took courage and determination.

LOL me too! What a great story. I got a little misty just hearing about it secondhand.

Beautifully put!

This is a wonderful story!

It reflects so much of what I felt being near the back of the pack of a 10k in March. For that last 500m I just turned up my music all the way and ran so hard I was crying when I finished. It felt so good to have gotten myself to the finish. I hope the woman you saw felt just as accomplished as I did.

Wow! That is so moving, but at the same time, it makes me feel so bad about me refusing to go to the gym because I'm afraid to be looked at. :/

I agree