Hey ‘N Her Shoes readers! I’m excited for the opportunity to write a guest post here on Bobbi’s blog about my road to the Ragnar Relay. My name is Kerry of Running on Faith.
Since reading about Bobbi’s experience in Colorado last summer on her relay team, I was hooked on the idea of participating in a similar event! However, at the time, I had no clue how I would be able to after finishing my first year teaching.
While participating in half marathons, running has always been considered a solo sport for me. I mean, it seems at the end of the day it is just you, your mind, and some running shoes. I knew that participating in a relay would bring back another component to running that I felt when on the cross country team in high school and that would be the COMMUNITY!
The communities that I belong to have always meant a great deal to me. In college, I was involved with many organizations that I was dedicated to. From community service projects to my dorm to the medical societies on campus, I always felt that I could find some common ground with others. However, after college, it became a challenge to develop a sense of community, especially when your job takes you thousands of miles from anything you considered as “homeâ€.
Fresh out of college in June 2008, I pursued a teaching job that would move send me packing and driving across the country from my home town in New York to San Francisco. 
If anyone is aware of the life of a first year teacher, then you know that teaching absolutely consumes every thought and moment of that year! In addition, I was living far from friends and family. As an individual who relies heavily on deep, connecting friendships and community, I literally felt like I was “Running on faith†during my first year in the Bay Area as I tried to survive being an inner-city high school science teacher.
After that first year in the classroom, I knew that in order to be my happiest, I had to make a couple changes. I made it a priority to find a running group and reclaim the passion that I developed in high school and college. With the help of the running group, I participated in the San Jose Rock n’ Roll Half Marathon and California International Marathon. In this time, I also discovered the blog community and decided to create my own in the hopes that this would create a larger support network – a support network that would be with me as I worked on my running and more generally, as I de
veloped my passions in order to create a life I’ve always envisioned after college.
The blog community has brought me to the Ragnar Relay and I could not be more grateful! After reading Bobbi’s post while on Christmas break, I knew it was a GOOD fit for me! Putting myself out there again, like I did in college, while extending my circle of friends and in no better context but running… sigh, that’s what it’s all about. Bring on the race 🙂
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