A crazy dream 

Have you seen the new Nike commercial ‘Dream Crazier’?

It was broadcast during the Oscars last weekend.

I love it!

The video, with Serena Williams as voice over, shows in 90 seconds how female athletes have broken down many of the barriers that have existed over the years and how they have inspired other women.

It starts with the following text:

‘If we show emotion, we’re called dramatic. If we want to play against men, we’re nuts.
And if we dream of equal opportunities, delusional’.

Nervous

The video made me think of my first running event. In 2008 I participated, with colleagues, in the ‘Marikenloop’.
A run in The Netherlands of 5 km.

I was nervous because I had just started running.

It was tough, but I reached the finish and was proud of my first medal.

That felt good…

I started building up the running and participated in longer runs.

Jokingly, I once said that it was my dream to run the New York marathon.

At that moment I was fully convinced that a marathon was only reserved for a happy few and that I absolutely didn’t belong in that group. Crazy?

I liked running more and more and I loved being able to do it any time and at any place.

Very handy with two young children.

I ran my first half marathon, 1.5 years after the birth of my daughter, in 2016.
That was a real milestone for me.

It went slightly different

In January 2018, I happened to see an ad on Facebook that the registration for the New York marathon had been opened.

The ad was constantly in my mind and without telling anyone I registered the same week.

The chance to get a place is less than 5%, but if you don’t get through the ballot 4 times in a row, you’ll be assigned a place for the 5th year.

Great, so I still have 5 years to train.

But, it went slightly different.

On the 1st of March 2018 I received an email with the subject: Get Ready to Run the Streets of New York City!

I got through the ballot!

The rest of the year was dominated by preparing for the marathon. There were ups and downs.
I can write pages about that, but I will spare you ;).

On the 4th of November 2018, I successfully completed the New York City Marathon and didn’t feel crazy at all.

It was an unforgettable experience.

A dream, that seemed totally unrealistic a few years ago, had come true.

This experience has taught me that I can dream big (or should I say ‘crazy’) and just have to go for it.

Let us show where crazy can take us.

And this great Nike commercial keeps reminding me of that: https://youtu.be/whpJ19RJ4JY

What’s your dream?
Go for it! Be crazy!

Eefke

PS:
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