Monday, May 9, 2011

Emily


I have been having a hard time putting this post together.  I mean, really, what do you say about something, someone that is beyond words.  One of a kind.  Superhuman.  Amazing.  Awe-inspiring.  I know.  It just doesn't cover it.

To have the opportunity to be able to witness first hand her greatness and awesomeness just leaves me stumped.  I will be forever grateful for the experience of being there.  Without getting all girly and mushy and emotional...on that corner, of that hot Phoenix city block, you could FEEL the love and amazing energy that is EMZ. 

Em was all about the run.  All about the Sojourner Center.  And doing all she could to raise awareness and funds for them.  Yes, she is the most physically fit person I have ever personally met and known.  She made that 100 mile run look like an easy downhill 10K.  But aside from the physicality, her determination, focus and dedication and heart was what was so amazing.  Running is hard.  Running at the 16 hour mark is crazy ridiculous hard.  Running at the 22.5 hour mark is a thought process of 'is this really happening right now, cause this isn't real'.  And in all those moments, her smile never left her.  Her energy never left her.  She talked and joked with everyone that came up to chat with her.  Even complete strangers that were in disbelief and had to ask her what the heck she was doing.  

Her family is full of strength and love for their wife, mother, daughter, sister, and aunt.  Everyone was ready to do whatever necessary to help and did.  But I expected nothing less.  With a one of a kind like Emily, of course her family would be just as incredible.

One of my duties was to be in charge of social media.  To not only be able to feel the support and love in Phoenix, but to feel all the love and well wishes across blogland, twitter, emails and texts was awesome.  I usually shared them in intervals, mostly because they came non-stop throughout the entire 24.  We laughed and teased the entire night.  You have no idea how much all those thoughts and comments of encouragement helped.  Thank you to everyone.  Even though you weren't physically there, we could feel your presence and happy/positive vibes/wishes/prayers.

The last two and a half hours was when we saw her sheer will take over.  This was the point where, yes she was in the downhill stretch.  She could have just walked it out til the end.  She proved her rock star status, she had this 24 hours in the bag.  But there was the second goal.  The 24 hr she knew she had.  But without the 100, she would have been disappointed.  Everyone said the number didn't matter.  But it mattered.  She pushed through those last two hours, still running.  Running close to the same pace she started at!  She bottled up all that pain and fatigue, put it up on a shelf, and ran.  When she closed in on 100, I wept.  I am fighting tears right now just thinking about it.  To see her conquer her goal and with 3 minutes to spare, was overwhelming.  There was not a dry eye on that block.  For all of us to see her give every once of her being to not only such a worthy cause, but to accomplish such a huge feat was nothing less than stunning.  It was her heart that got there.  Her resolve to not only start what she finished but to do it with grace, compassion, sincerity, style and barely a drop of sweat.  Extraordinary.

I would imagine you want details of the day.  How it went down.  What she did.  What she ate.  When.  Did she walk?  How fast was she running? I don't want to steal her thunder.  I'll let her share the details.  And if she doesn't cover all of her awesomeness I'll fill in the spaces... : )  Until then, I will continue to try to process this insane weekend.  One I will never forget.  The gratitude I have for witnessing something so special is immeasurable.  I am grateful to have a friend like her.  To even just know a person like her.

If you haven't had a chance to donate, there's still time.  Pop over to her website here.  Whatever donation you can make will make a difference in the lives of the those that the Sojourner Center serves.

And one post can not cover this event, so don't mind me if a I babble on and on about it for awhile... : )

37 comments:

  1. What an awesome experience! It is so nice to know there are still so many good people in the world. :)

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  2. I've been waiting for this post - she is amazing, and I can't even imagine how you both must be feeling at the end of it all. I will greedily take in every post I can get on the entire experience. I'm so happy you were there for her the whole time.

    Awesome.

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  3. Dawm. I can tell you, this post is PERFECT. It made me cry. I am one of the ones who said the number was not important because I did not want her to reach a crazy number for the "others" just reach the number for Em. You know? this was about the cause not a record mileage even though I did get she had a number in mind. I would have had one also. Who wouldn't right? I'll say it again you were a superstar friend to her. It is wonderful that you were able to share that with her. Thank you for sharing your experience and for responding to all our crazy tweets and txt!

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  4. Should I even be allowed to comment right now? I can't even see the screen through my tears.

    So I've "known" you forever but really five months. Can you believe that. Five. Months.

    You are the best. Best. Friend. A. Girl. Could. Dream. Of.

    The last 8 miles. I may have physically ran them but they were all yours.

    Dawn. I love you. Dearly. You. Are. Incredible.

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  5. Great post Dawn. You rocked it too by being there the whole time. You played a part in this. It was fun to experience from afar. Thanks for being such a good Social Media Manager.

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  6. Such an eloquently written post Dawn!! You depicted this surreal event beautifully! It's hard to believe you have only known each other 5 months?!!! Beautiful ! Brought me to tears AGAIN!

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  7. She is nothing but amazing. You described everything perfectly - you two are so lucky to have each other as friends...soul sisters!! Thanks for sharing, I was deeply moved!

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  8. Awesome post! So glad you could be there for her! And thank you for being the social media princess and allowing those of us who were texting and tweeting the chance to feel like we were there in spirit.

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  9. Totally worth blabbing about for WEEKS! Love hearing about it each and every day! You are awesome! What an incredible thing you did...Keep those posts coming!

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  10. Well after EMZs post, I had to follow you! Amazing journey she has been on....and so cool that you were there to share it with her.

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  11. What EMZ did was so incredibly amazing but so are you! You are such a great friend for flying out to be with her and support her. You are both so freaking inspiring! I hope I can be a rockstar like you two some day :)

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  12. Wow. There are good people in this here world -- you and EMZ show that. Big time.

    What a great experience. Inspirational.

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  13. Dawn it was so great to meet you at RUN EMZ! I am totally following you now! What an amazing friend you are & I can't wait to read all about your adventures! Bless u!

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  14. EMZ said follow and follow we shall. You did an amazing job! What a great freind you are to have.

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  15. It is so awesome that you got to be there for her and help her accomplish such a huge and awesome thing. You guys rock! :) thanks for the wonderful post and can't wait to read more.

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  16. EMZ is awesome and so are you! That would have been such an amazing experience and you didn't take any of it for granted and you still managed to keep us all well informed!

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  17. You two are so amazing. Thanks for keeping all of us posted. Very nice post. I can't wait to hear more of the details of the weekend. I would imagine it was all quite surreal.

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  18. Oh, and I hope your kids gave you a nice nap for mother's day. :)

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  19. I LOVE Absolutely Everything about this story:
    EMZ
    The support you gave
    The support from friends and family
    The support from PITA and Peanut
    My FAVORITE part is that the next time a terrified woman calls the shelter to find a safe place for her and her children... she WON'T be turned away!! That speaks volumes... you both contributed to that.... SIMPLY AMAZING

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  20. now this is what running is all about...friendship, cheering each other on, pushing each other, and celebrating our accomplishments together. Your friendship is rare and such a gift! Love it.

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  21. Just found u through EMZ. This entire story is absolutely amazing. I love runners. They are pretty much the most supportive, positive people on earth.

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  22. Just wanted to give you a big thank-you for being there for my sister! Emily has a lot of family and friends who support her, but none of us truly understand her running like you do! Your kindness, love and sacrifice for her did not go unnoticed!

    With gratitude,
    One of Emz's proud sisters

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  23. wonderful post! amazing accomplishment!
    thank you!

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  24. What a wonderful experience...you are both such amazing women. I love that you found each other and have become so close in such a short time. Reminds me that we never know what the future holds and what the next unforgetable moment will be in our life! Thank you so much for sharing this.

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  25. Great post. You are an incredible friend, and a deeply caring person. Thanks for keeping us all in-the-loop as this unfolded, and thanks for helping Emily do something amazing. You two inspire us to be better people, and turn good intentions into reality. I hope you had a great Mother's Day to round out an unforgettable three days.

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  26. Well said Dawn. Lovely post indeed. I can imagine how hard it is to describe this. No one can really know how special this was to you and EMZ. Thanks for letting us have a part of that.

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  27. She's superhuman, that's for sure.

    I loved reading all your tweets during the run. It's amazing thinking of all that I did during those 24 hours, including sleep, and she RAN that whole time!

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  28. I'm a new follower!!! Not sure how I wasn't before. I've been a fan of EMZ for a long time now. I was inspired before and speechless now.

    I love this post. How great for you to be able to share in something so amazing. I loved all the tweets and updates.

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  29. adorable and amazing and wonderful. i love both of you for being so insanely supportive of each other, that is what true friendship is no matter the number of months or years to build

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  30. Dear Dawn, I hope you know how important you were to the success and spirit of this run. I kept seeing your calm, serene look and I felt OK. I knew you would push with just the right amount of encouragement. Emily trusted you to know her limits and it was as though you had known each other for years. Who would have guessed you had never trained together before. One of my best moments was seeing you run side-by-side with her....so fitting.

    Thanks for your sacrifice on Mothers' Day weekend to be a part of our family.
    Emz Momz

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  31. Wow! What an amazing journey! You are a gem for sharing it with her!

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  32. It was great to see you again, and so inspiring to see your love and support for EMZ. You two have such an incredible friendship, it's simply wonderful to be in the presence of. :)

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  33. Wow!I am in total awe! EMZ is obviously an outstanding athlete AND an incredibly giving human being! I'm completely impressed and inspired, by you both!

    I'm also wondering if EMZ has bionic legs or something? :)

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  34. Love this post

    just totally awesome you were able to get down there and be such a big part of the event with Em

    D

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  35. She is one of the most selfless people I can think of. What an amazing journey. I'm sure words can't express exactly how you feel although this was a really touching post. I'm so glad you were there for her. What an amazing experience!

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