I’m sure no one has to tell you that running a marathon is hard. Even if you have never ran one yourself, have no desire to run one, or aren’t a runner at all, most people generally understand that training for and running in a marathon is a lot of work. If it were easy, everyone would do it right? So it shouldn’t come as too big of a surprise that when I ran the Chicago marathon for the second time back in 2021, I decided that it would be my last marathon until whenever I had the opportunity to run the original course in Greece. I actually told my partner that I was “retiring” from the marathon until that time. However, fast forward to 2024 and here we go again. I am officially running the Chicago marathon for a third time. I would say it’ll be my last, but life has taught me to never say never.
So what caused me to change my mind and return to a summer full of early mornings, long runs, speed workouts, and intense training? My love for Girls in the Game (GitG). GitG is a wonderful organization here in Chicago that provides sports programming for girls throughout the city. Just as we know that kids’ participation in sports is about more than the sport itself, GitG does so much more for girls than just provide sports instruction. The programs they run help girls to build a positive self-esteem and self-worth, develop their leadership and team building skills, and create healthy relationships that will endure.
Because I love GitG’s messages of girl power and overall female empowerment, I joined their Auxiliary Board last year as my way to support their work. So when they were asking for charity runners for this year’s marathon, there really was no way that I could say no (especially since they all knew “I was a runner”). I have ran as a charity partner for a couple of other organizations that I love, but this is the first time that I have ran for an organization where I have a first-hand opportunity to see the ins and outs of what my support means. I have also set a goal for myself to aim for a new personal record (PR) for my marathon time with this attempt, so I am more focused than ever on being true to training and preparation. This makes this fundraising/training cycle even more personal, and my hope is that these efforts pay off both in reaching (exceeding!) my fundraising minimum and achieving a time of 4 hours and 45 minutes in October. I love Girls in the Game, and I love being able to support them in this way. If you want to throw in your support of us both, please consider donating here: https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/kimberly-frey and subscribe to this blog to get regular updates on my progress.
Words from the Long Run 