Story by Meghan Howard

 

Running has brought so much joy to my life – it has taught me so many valuable life lessons and things about myself. It has taught me that I am so much stronger mentally and physically than I give myself credit for and that I can, in fact, do hard things. It has brought me so many new friends and a community that is so incredibly supportive and inspiring.

 

Running can be such a mental sport and I think that is truly the biggest challenge about the sport. After minutes, hours, days and months of training, finding the mental strength to keep pushing on, is sometimes difficult – however, the rewards that come with it when you do – are unmatched and a beautiful thing and that is what keeps me breaking down those barriers.

 

October 13th 2024 is one of the biggest highlights in my running career. After an injury in October 2023 at the Chicago marathon I was devastated as I was not able to reach my goal time and accomplish what I had worked so hard to achieve.. and also had an injury to overcome as the cherry on top! I made it my mission to come back stronger and better for a redemption round at the 2024 Chicago marathon… and that’s exactly what I did.

 

This years Chicago marathon marks my personal best time of 2:59:38 and my 8th full marathon. The course, the community, the spectators, all made it that much more magical in one of the cities I love the most.. I can’t wait to see what’s next for me and I can’t wait to continue to push my limits while continuing to fall in love more and more with the sport !

 

I’m so incredibly excited and grateful to continue my six star journey next month and nab my third star in New York City at the NYC Marathon to finish off my 2024 running season. Lots more to come after that in 2025 !!