Someone looked at me last night, after a fun filled evening of dancing and asked, “why did you come here?” As if moving to Hanover from Boston was the stupidest thing I have ever done!
If you had asked me three months ago if I would ever leave Boston I would have looked at you and said “Are you kidding me? NO WAY!” especially if you asked me to move to the upper ‘stix’ - as people would call it- of New Hampshire. Now I am not bad mouthing New Hampshire at all, I’m actually a native of this fine state, which is exactly why I would never have decided to move back here. Boston is just filled with wonderful things to do and there is never a quiet moment so naturally the thought of moving to a town where I would probably see the same people day in and day out seemed a little…monotonous. I have walked down the same streets of Boston for six years and can honestly say I have seen new and different faces every single day. Not only that Boston is filled with street performers, restaurants, concerts, museums, the wonderful Charles River, the infamous Fenway park…you name it Boston has it. So why am I here?
I spent the last three months training alone in Boston. For anyone who has ever had to train alone, you know it isn’t easy, especially if you are looking to improve. I realized that I needed a change, that if I wanted to improve my running, I needed to train with people who are as dedicated to running and training as I would like to think that I am. So I started looking around. I heard of this new group in NH that would be training under the well-established runner Tim Broe from a wonderful athlete and fellow ITA member that I met out at the Bix 7 miler in Davenport Iowa (awesome race by the way!). To make a long story short, which is hard for me to do since I am quite the chatter box - as some of my teammates have come to painfully discover – I visited/talked to other running groups and nothing seemed to compare to this group. Not only do I get to run with some amazing athletes and really awesome people, I also get to use my running for the greater good. As a team we get to do what we love to do and motivate others to lead healthy and active lifestyles. If there is one thing I love more than running, its working with children. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a child’s face who has just learned something new and is excited about it. Needless to say I can’t wait to start that aspect of the program!
In the mean time we have spent our days running, eating, sleeping and just spending time together as a team. This entails, potlucks, competitive games of halo, shooting at animated jungle animals (including spiders, why you would shoot at a spider is beyond me) and all sorts of other fun adventures. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute I have been here thanks to this wonderful group of people and I want to thank everyone – teammates, my coach and In the Arena – for giving me this wonderful opportunity.
So to answer the question asked of me last night “why did you come here...” I came here to be with the best athletes and to make a difference in someone else's life. I came here because this is where I feel like I belong, its home to me and there really is ‘no place like home.’
Cheesy I know but its true! :)
-Andrea
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