Until yesterday I hadn’t heard of a young lady named Taylor, but I haven’t been able to get her out of my mind since I read her story on her sister Laura’s blog, Write the Happy Ending.  I originally read about Laura’s plan to run in the Thunder Road Half Marathon blindfolded in honor of her sister on Monica’s blog Run Eat Repeat.  Laura and I exchanged a few comments, and I quickly found her blog.  I was immediately drawn to her and her journey to bring awareness and to help find a cure for Batten disease, the disease from which her younger sister Taylor suffers.

Yesterday Laura wrote My Birthday Wish for Taylor and suggested three things her readers could do to honor her sister Taylor on her birthday:

Sign up to run for Taylor at Thunder Road on Saturday, Nov. 16, and help us turn the course purple for Taylor’s Tale.

 

Make a gift to Taylor’s Tale in honor of Taylor’s birthday and help support our fight against Batten disease and other rare and genetic diseases.

 

Run 3.1 miles – or a 5K – for Taylor on her birthday, Aug. 19. Visit our Facebook page and share a post about your run.

 

Today I went for a 6.2 mile run for Taylor because I wanted to wish her a doubly-happy birthday!  🙂  Taylor, here’s a description of my run…

TaylorsRunDeb

 

I chose to run on the W&OD Trail because it’s a long straight trail, and I wanted to be able to bring my other senses to life, and not focus on the things that might distract me on my community trail.  I drove to one of my favorite parts of the trail, parked, and then ran 6.2 miles.

WODTrailRunKeeperMap

 

I focused on looking down at the pavement in front of me and using my ears to tune into the sounds around me.  I heard the roar of several large jets approaching the airport as they were preparing to land.  I heard birds singing, crickets chirping, bikers announcing that they were passing on my left, and my RunKeeper app updating me on my progress.

WODTrailJet

 

I was even quite surprised to hear not one, but two, park service trucks approaching me and passing from behind.

WODTrailTrucksPassing

 

My sense of smell was keen today, too.  I could smell the fresh earth that was being dug up by various pieces of bright yellow John Deer earth movers, the fresh purple flowers along the trail, and the farm animals that I passed by!

WODTrailDirtCatapillar

 

I tried shutting my eyes many times when no bikers, walkers, or other runners were around me and never dared to run for more than about five seconds before opening them to make sure that I was still on my side of the trail.  Despite knowing that all I needed to do was run in a straight line, I found myself pulling to the left and the center of the trail.  Knowing that Taylor has run in two 5K’s and that Laura plans to run a half marathon blindfolded amazes me.

Please join me in wishing Taylor a wonderful birthday.  Please go visit Laura’s blog or Taylor’s Facebook page to wish her a happy birthday, and do whatever you can to help their cause.

Happy 15th birthday, Taylor!

 

  •  Questions:
  • Who plans to run in the Thunder Road marathon, half-marathon, or 5K?
  • Have you ever done an exercise where you inhibited one of your senses to see how your other senses are enhanced?
  • What other causes have you run for?