Audacious Hope

I had the priviledge and pleasure of hearing Silvia Ruegger speak at the Aurora Running Room last night. She told a touching story of how she went from running in the path of her mother's headlights on unlit roads in Small-Town-Ontario to competing in the first ever women's marathon at the 1984 Olympics, and later setting the world record for the Canadian women's marathon (her record still exists). You can read an excerpt of Silvia's story here on Sarah's blog.

It is an incredible story of triumph and failure (Silvia never did achieve her ultimate goal of winning a medal for Canada), but the message she conveyed yesterday was much deeper than that. Regardless of whether or not you reach each and every goal, it's the journey that makes a difference in your life. The lessons of sacrifice and perseverance are invaluable, not to mention the people you can meet along the way and the things you learn about yourself. She left us with two words: audacious hope. It's okay to have bold, daring dreams because even if we don't quite make it, we can get a hell of a lot out of trying.

My own personal "audacious hope" may seem insignificant compared to Silvia Ruegger's, but that doesn't mean I'm going to get any less out of the journey.