My dear and faithful readers,

I have a request.  Tonight I seek your prayers, positive vibes, good wishes, whatever you are willing to send, for my friend, Katherine, and her family.

Before I tell you the details, I want you to know Katherine.  I’ve mentioned Katherine several times before, and she is a loyal reader of this blog.  She often makes encouraging comments when I post.

From the night I met Katherine, at Teri’s house for my first attendance of the Fit and Fab ladies, she has been one of my biggest cheerleaders.  I was training for my first 70.3 and I didn’t have a clue what I was doing amongst a group of women who could boast numerous Ironman’s to their credentials.  Other than Teri, I think I knew 3 people there.  But somehow I was introduced to Katherine, and before long, we were chatting like old friends.  And within no time at all, she had me believing that I truly was capable of anything I wanted to do.

As we talked, I had absolutely no idea what a complete BADASS this girl is.  She runs marathons, she does triathlons.  Ok, so do I.  But unlike me, she is looming at a sub 3 hour marathon.  She PR’ed in Boston the day of the bombing, and I’m pretty sure she has kicked that PR’s butt a couple times since.  Last year, at Ironman Coeur D’Alene she was hoping to qualify for the world championships in Kona.  After dropping her chain TWICE and losing all of her nutrition and hydration on the bike, she still managed to earn a spot in Kona.  It’s not uncommon for her to place at major events or even win local triathlons.  The girl is, I would wager to say, the best all-around athlete that I know.  She’s amazing.

And yet, you would never know it to talk to her.  She listens intently as you talk about your accomplishments and she encourages vigorously as you talk about your goals. She talks about her love of our sport.  But she’s so humble, she would never tell you how spectacular she is at it.  She would probably be more likely to describe herself as a nerd or a music lover.  She is brilliant too.  A “board-certified Psychiatrist” offering a second opinion, as she posted in a comment on one of my recent Facebook statuses to a friend who was jokingly saying she disagreed with her shrink.  Always light-hearted.

Katherine has 2 beautiful little girls, about the same ages as my boys.  She brags on them often.  She’s a proud mama.  She is also quick to build up her husband Jacob, her brother, her family and friends.  I don’t think there is a single one of us who doesn’t feel Katherine’s encouragement push us to be better at our passions.

Almost exactly 2 years ago, just before I went to Vancouver to run the marathon on May 5, I was in the middle of a fitting with a customer at the Chesterfield store.  I was sitting on the floor and I saw Katherine come in.  We were super busy, but I smiled and she came over to deliver a gift wrapped in tissue paper.  Later, when I opened it, I found socks with the words Bad Ass, and an arrow pointing upward.  I’m sure I still have the card she hand wrote, though I don’t know exactly where it is at present.  But I can tell you what it said, she was encouraging.  What she wrote made me believe that I am capable of achieving everything I dream of.  And more. Katherine knew I was going after Boston that day.  It wasn’t my day, we had record heat in Canada.  But Katherine has not, and will not, allow me to let go of that dream.  She is the reason I know I will get there someday.

I guarantee I am not the only one with a Katherine story like that.  She has a knack for bringing newbies in and making them feel right at home.

Yesterday Katherine was involved in a severe bicycle crash and was found unconscious by the side of the road.  We don’t believe that a car was involved, but rather that her tire blew causing her to crash.  She was flown to Barnes hospital after a passing motorist saw her and stopped to help.  She is currently in a medically induced coma to allow for a decrease of brain swelling.  If what I’ve heard is correct, she also has facial fractures and some internal bleeding.  There is a reason I am terrified of road riding by myself, and this is it. But Katherine is superwoman.  I don’t think she is afraid of anything, pain least of all.

If there is any one person in the world that I believe is strong enough to fight her way through this, it’s Katherine.  We even received an uplifting report this evening that she was responding to stimulus today.

In addition to my plea for your prayers for Katherine and her family, I have an additional request.  When Katherine was found, she was wearing her RoadID with her emergency contact information.  The paramedics were able to quickly determine who she was and contact her family.

My confession:  I have been terrible about wearing my RoadID lately.  Maybe in part because it still has my old last name on it.  But what happened to Katherine was the kick in the booty I needed to order a new one with the gift card I’ve had sitting on my desk since Christmas.

RoadID’s come in a variety of styles and colors.  And may I suggest they make great gifts for your active friends and family members.  If your mom is anything like mine, remember that Mother’s Day is right around the corner.  Sorry, Mom, I guess that secret is out.

Whatever your sport of choice, I ask you please, Lovely people, go forth and be safe!

I will post an update about Katherine’s progress when we have one, but in the meantime, please keep my cheerleader, my teammate and my friend lifted up high in your prayers.

Much love to you and yours,

Rambling Runner Girl