He registered online, at Active.com, just like all our other entrants….(complimentary of course), and on race day, which was actually the middle of the night for him, (he wanted to start running at exactly the same time in his world as we were in ours), DJ ran the Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon.   As soon as he finished, he emailed Alan Higley from ChampionChip Minnesota, our scoring company and his results were posted on the side of our headquarters bus with all the other runners results.  I mailed him his medal and his finishers shirt, and called it a Dunn deal.

The thing that made today’s email so exciting is that DJ wanted to know when he could register for the 2010 Deadwood Mickelson Trail Marathon because his tour in Iraq will be over and he’s going to be here, live and in person.  I can’t wait to meet him.

To me, Lt. Dryer is another example of how the running lifestyle let’s nothing get in it’s way.  And, DJ is has shared with me how running is his escape from the horrors of war….at least for a few minutes/hours of his day.

God bless DJ and all the other men and women in uniform in harm’s way.

I live to run, but not too fast, but even then, I’m seldom last.
I move along at my own speed never thinking of the lead.

The joy for me is just to run, and better yet, is to be done.
The finish line is just the same for runners fast and runners lame.

The prize is theirs, just past that line evoking tears, most every time.
“We’ve conquered more than twenty-six-two
you’re part of me…I’m part of you.”
__________________________________________________________

As marathon runners, we are family. We share a common experience. We have a mutual respect for one another. Some members of our family run like the wind…..and we are proud of them. Some of our brothers and sisters walk more than they run…..we are proud of them too. The elders of our clan are held in high regard for their commitment to continue on. The young in our midst are encouraged to grow and learn. Everyone in our family is a winner. Even the last one home is crowned The Slowest of the Winners…… a victor just the same. Our family has no ethnic, political or religious restrictions. We are one. We come together in the early morning with a single purpose and a common goal, and we do whatever we can to help each other finish the day with a medal.

We look at the person running next to us and we see a sister or brother, another human being……nothing more, nothing less. And as we look at them, we smile. We offer a word of encouragement. We want them to succeed. We want them to be proud of what they have accomplished that day. We run with a single purpose….to finish what we came to do. So when you come to Dunn’s Dialogue, here at AllSportRunning.com, what you are going to find is more than training tips; nutritional nuggets; race ratings; and other practical kinds of information, you will also find me expounding on how marathon training and marathon running parallels everyday life. You’ll find me talking/writing about things like commitment, self-awareness, delayed gratification, goal setting and a humble form of personal pride. Life lessons that we as marathon runners sometimes don’t ponder deeply enough…those characteristics that set us apart from non-runners. The things that make us different…in a positive way. I hope some of my musings will give you pause to think, to laugh, to applaud yourself…maybe even respond.

I invite you to make AllSportRunning your ultimate online resource for all things running related. Check out Rod’s Corner to stay in touch with what’s going on at the front of the pack, and click on Dunn’s Dialogue to find out what’s happenin’ a little further back in the pack. But whatever you want to know, you can find it right here.

Run your own race.