By: Kelly Maurer, Director of Charm City Run Training Groups
One mile at a time. One day at a time. Two strong mantras that can refer to so many different things in life from running, recovery and addiction, to so much more. Five years ago as we were planning how to celebrate National Running Day, our town and people like us were being affected by the opioid epidemic, and we knew this is where we could help out.
How do we bring our community of runners together on National Running Day and at the same time make a difference in the lives of those fighting addiction or those in recovery. As runners we are always looking for the next challenge, the next distance, a new goal, so could we host a 24 hour run and would people show up to run or walk or would they think we were crazy? And that is how the 24 Hour Challenge started and this year as we celebrate our 5th year, we have made a difference and look forward to doing it again.
As we wait at the starting line of the race, look around and you will see runners, walkers, families, friends, and for some of them this may be their first race, first mile, or maybe even their first day in recovery. You can feel the excitement in the air and a true sense of community. The running community is a family and when we introduce runners to another communities we do great things.
Join us this year for one mile, one hour, or whatever you can challenge yourself to do that day. We are all out there for the cause and the challenge and in the end we are doing something EPIC!
Run the Mile You are In.
