MS Run The US Recap- Day 7 Part 2 - Miles 174-175

"Miles For Bernard" ~Day 7 Mantra

Miles 174-175 ; Civic Center Park -> Woods Boss Brewery

1 mile left. I had covered 174 miles on my journey to get here from Steamboat. I had battled wind/ rain/ snow/ traffic/ no music / heat/ tired legs to get to this point. I tried not to look back on my journey because I didn't want to get emotional. I wanted to celebrate and enjoy the experience. I wanted this to be the slowest mile ever because I didn't want it to stop. My legs were a bit tired, but never feeling to the point that they do when I race a marathon. My feet were definitely ready to get out of sneakers for a few days and into some recovery Oofos sandals, but my heart wanted to keep going.

Alex left for the brewery a bit past 11am and mom & I headed to Civic Center Park. It was already pretty warm, but thankfully the shade from the sky scrapers helped keep the temperatures down. We waited for a bit and Rob delivered me my baton! I can't believe just a week earlier I had gotten the baton passed along to me. While we waited for my orange army to run to me from the Brewery, we took some photos and watched the traffic. Soon enough, they were here! I started to tear up just a little as I saw the sea of orange running towards me. I'm very much a solo runner, but to see all the people that came to run my final mile with me and raise awareness of MS it was amazing. I loved the support.

We started our run at 11:50am and it went by so fast. I don't remember stopping at the lights or really what was around us. I remember chatting with Ashley about what I would do next and I had no idea. It still didn't seem real. I mean, I ran from Steamboat to Denver! What?!?

We crossed the final intersection and crossed the road. I saw the finish line chute and brewery up ahead and immediately put my hands up. I held back any emotions because all I wanted to remember this day by was pure joy and happiness. That's what my grandfather would have felt had he been there, so that is what I channeled. It was 12pm on May 27th, 2018 and I had just ran 175.88 miles to raise awareness of MS.

Finish Line photo on pointe! Photo Courtesy of MS Run The US

I couldn't stop smiling! I ran to the finish with my baton and finally stopped running. My body kinda just wanted to keep going - it got into such a nice rhythm but I was also definitely looking forward to getting some much-needed SLEEP! So many people came up to congratulate me and that made it seem more real. They were in-awe of what I had just done and thanked me over and over again.

Ashley, MS Run The US Founder, gave me a hug and Sam from MS4MS was also there to congratulate me. The owner of Woods Boss Brewery where we finished also congratulated me. It felt weird to be the center of attention (something I normally don't like, but today I relished in it). My 175 mile journey had finally come to a close, but I wouldn't begin to process everything until weeks later.

Alex headed home and Mom & I headed out to do some shopping (all the essential places ofcourse... ;) ....)! We got ice cream, went to Sephora, TJ Maxx, Trader Joes, and Whole Foods before heading home through Rocky Mountain National Park.