The Snowman Shuffle 4 miler is the third race in a 3 race series called the Polar Bear Grand Prix. I had signed up to do this race trilogy several years ago but ended up only doing one of the 3 races. I didn’t go to one because I didn’t want to walk in the snow and I had the flu for this race then.

A friend of mine signed up for this race series, so I decided to do it with her. It was a super cold morning and I really wanted to talk myself out of doing it. However, since I had already finished the other 2 races of this series but I didn’t finish the last time I signed up and my friend was going, I really wanted to be able to say I completed this race series. So I went and did it.

When I crossed the finish line, even though I was dead last — the last person to cross the finish line — instead of feeling defeated, I felt a sense of accomplishment. I was proud of myself for actually getting out in the cold and finishing this series of races. The course had a couple of pretty serious hills, which were a challenge for me.

The hardest part of the race for me was that I wanted to give up but I didn’t. One of the most rewarding things for me finishing this race is that this is one of the longest races I’ve done since I mainly do 5K’s and have only done one 10k. Another accomplishment is my pace time improved. I walk daily so I didn’t do any special training but having friends that have faster speeds than me, knowing they will meet me at the finish line, cheering me past the finish, helps me.

I’d love to know what motivates & inspires others as I’m always looking for new motivation and inspiration. One thing I’d like people to know is to not give up – it doesn’t matter how fast you are or if you’re dead last. The thing that matters is that you got out and did it.