Emily

I've only got a minute, but I don't want to let it pass.

This morning I attended one of our first end-of-season New Balance Girls on the Run 5k's. The race took place just southeast of Charlotte in Union County.

Over 800 girls and their running buddies, fathers, mothers and caregivers hit the road at 8:00 a.m. to cover the 3.1 miles.

I love the after effects...smiling red faces, sweat drenched T-shirts, high-fives and lots of love.

About an hour after the race an impromptu line formed where I got a moment to meet with many of the girls, one-on-one, sign t-shirts and generally just take the time to share our gratitude for one another.

Emily stood before me.

"How' ya doing girl?" I asked.

"Good," she responded...big smile on her face.

"Well, you did it," I continued. "How do you feel about everything right now? So what's going on inside your head? What are you thinking?"

Emily replied. "Well, I've loved Girls on the Run, but today I figured out one very important thing about myself."

"And what is that?" I asked.

"I'm not a runner. I'm a walker."

First a pause...and then a grin. A beautiful from the-center-of-oneself-kind-of-grin...the grin that made it well worth my waking up at 4:30 this morning. Emily gets it.

We hugged each other.

Of course the irony of her figuring out that running is really "not her thing" in our 12-week "running program" is obvious.

But, in the overall scheme of things, Emily has experienced what rests at the CORE of this program. Instead of trying to be something we are not, let's honor, embrace and celebrate the gifts we have and the things we love to do and in the process reveal our real and authentic selves.