"Running is a lifetime sport," my parents and grandparents would always tell me. Little did I know how accurate this statement is. While yes, while you're running you may feel like your legs are a thousand pounds and that your lungs are going to collapse but there truly is no feeling like crossing the finish line knowing that you gave everything you possibly could to do your best in the race.

My experience with the Detroit Free Press Half-Marathon was absolutely unreal. I was inspired, to say the least. The amount and variety of people participating in this year's race absolutely blew me away and each person I saw motivated me. If the 74 year old man passing me can run 13.1 miles, then I should be able to, I thought to myself (I'm not kidding, a 74 year old man was in front of me and straight killing it). Not to mention the thousands of spectators cheering on family, friends and everyone in between. there's nothing better than seeing random strangers holding up witty signs to make you laugh when you feel like your legs are going to fall off. The best one I saw said "1 in 100 runners poop their pants, will it be you?" I laughed a little to hard at that one.

But by far the biggest inspiration for me was my family. My sister, dad, and especially my mom each gave me reasons to push myself until the very end and not to let myself quit. My little sister was recently diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis which prevented her for running the race alongside me. I can't imagine what it's like to be in that position at such a young age and I look up to her strength and perseverance. When I wanted to quit, I thought of her. Like my sister, my dad also has a health condition that cannot be cured. he was diagnosed in 1999 with multiple sclerosis, a degenerative neurological disease that he has lived for most of my life. Being away from at school him is hard but every time I go home and see him, the look on his face is priceless. He has good and bad days but when I was too tired to run anymore, I was reminded that he couldn't. When I wanted to quit, I thought of him. Last and certainly not least, I was inspired by my amazing, crazy, superhero of a mother. She never fails to crack a smile on my face, even when she literally dragged me out of the house to train for the race. She holds herself with poise and grace and is without a doubt the strongest person I know. She sets goals and pushes herself in every aspect of her life, whether it's hoping to get the house cleaned before midnight or wanted to run 9 straight miles without stopping. She might as well be super human. And on top of all that, she's successfully completed eight full marathons and five or six half marathons. Her success in this crazy sport is what made me want to get started in the first place. When I wanted to quit, I thought of her.

There's no doubt in my mind that running 13.1 miles was the most physically and mentally challenging thing I have ever done, but I can honestly say that it was such an amazing experience so it made all of the moments of pain and exhaustion so worth it. I've come away from this race knowing that I am far more capable of anything that I ever dreamed of and am ridiculously proud of myself and all my friends and family who ran alongside me and I absolutely cannot wait to get more races under my belt.