What does that mean?

Why Run Strong, No Regrets?

Well, its not really all that glamorous of a story but I thought I should share why I chose this name for my blog.
A few years back I attended a forum that Saucony sponsored just before the Boston Marathon. The speakers were all athletes and survivors-cancer, injuries, and illness. Micah True (also known as Caballo Blanco) was scheduled to speak at that forum however that was the year he went missing and sadly he was later found dead on the trail he had been running on. His good friend Luis Escobar attended on his behalf. The theme of the event was Find Your Strong and so Saucony’s Find Your Strong initiative began. It was a powerful night, I drank the Saucony “kool-aid” and felt empowered by the speakers and the initiative.
Here is the less than glamorous part…Months later, I went to a Thirty-One Party and purchased a bag for my running gear, a kit bag so to speak. I wanted to monogram it so I added a tiara (yeah, I know). I also wanted to monogram Find Your Strong over the tiara but it was too many letters so I shortened it to Run Strong. I liked it so I went with it since Find Your Strong was already taken 😉   In all seriousness,  I feel that running has impacted my life in so many ways but overall it has made me stronger. I am stronger physically but I am also stronger emotionally. Running is a great release and I often spend my runs figuring out life’s problems. Running has also increased my spiritual strength. It allows me to spend hours in the woods, I find the woods to be peaceful and relaxing and in a sense it is my place of “worship”. I am thankful for what my body can do and where it has taken me. I strive to run strong.

No Regrets morphed from No Excuses. I am not really sure why I decided to use it other than I cant seem to turn down a challenge, I don’t want to have regrets. One can always find excuses to NOT do something but I have found that excuses can lead to regrets.

I wanted to create a symbol to represent Run Strong, No Regrets. I had been researching symbols of strength for years while looking for my next tattoo. I decided that I wanted to combine a symbol of strength with the symbol for infinity (infinite strength, forever strong…)

Now the symbol of strength that I use does look similar to a flower but it is not. It’s the Tabono symbol, which represents strength and perseverance. It’s an Ancient African symbol originating from Ghana on the Ivory Coast
I decided to use pink for the symbol of strength. Pink is my racing color. Pink stands out, I don’t like to stand out, blending in the crowd is just fine with me. BUT as I became more confident in racing I wanted to show that I am strong, strong enough to stand out a little so I made pink my color.