"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" 2 Timothy 4:7
Expo and Packet Day: Saturday, October 26th
Started at 6 am with a 6 hour drive to National Harbor to pick up the runners packet!
The lines were so long, there were going to be around 30,000 runners for three races: the Marathon, 10K and 50K. I went to wait in line and Dan and the kiddos enjoyed one of our favorite date places when we lived in Fort Washington at the YWAM base. National Harbor is a beautiful place to walk and talk, which Dan and I love!
I made some new friends and saw some old ones from PA. A friend from PA, Casey, was running the marathon too. So Emily, his wife, and their whole family were in DC too. We passed each other on my way out!
We stayed at our good friends' house, Danny and Elissa, from our DC days. Danny was running his first marathon, too, so we prepared together with a great dinner and then dressed up to make sure everything fit! It was so fun to do this experience together as friends and families. Danny helped me a lot during the training, sharing tips he learned a long the way. We love you Danny and Elissa!
Marathon Game Faces!
Race Day: October 27, 2024 
Pali is one of the first friends I met when we moved to DC who was in both worlds, Christian and Deaf World. She is a CODA and interpreter, and we love praying for Jesus to be known in the Deaf community together. It was such a blessing to see her and Jen (pictured above, another interpreter friend from DC), not once but two times during the race! They both showed up during Mile 24 or 25 which were my two hardest miles. And both of them ran and prayed for me too!
The medal has a picture of the world on the outside and says
Woke up at 5:00 am for a 5:30 Uber to the drop off location. I had my oatmeal (with raisin and peanut butter with a little honey) breakfast to start my day!
We jumped into the Uber to go to a pre-determined drop-off point with Danny's neighbor and running partner for the day. We had a change of plans, though, as all the roads were blocked, earlier in the morning and for a wider area than what had been communicated. So we had to take the metro to the start and, wow, was it packed with so many runners! We knew we were going the right way.
We arrived, later than expected, but with enough time to go to the bathroom, stretch a little and get in our starting groups. It was cold in the morning, and I was glad I brought my blanket along! Saw some beautiful views while waiting. I love to see the sequence of pictures and how it gets brighter and brighter with the sunrise!
THE RACE: Run with Purpose
There were so many God lessons I learned as I ran the race! I am definitely processing them and hope to share more in a future blog. However, for now, I did want to share a few sweet moments.
Remembering my journey and how far God has taken me was one of those impactful moments. A year and a half ago, I had not run more than 3 miles, and I was not sure if I could run 6 miles for a triathlon! And remembering friends along the way like Kristi from PA, that encouraged me that I could and did not let me give up! And encouraged me all the way until today! Kristi and another friend in PA, Amanda, would pray for my long runs in PA! 10 months ago, I did a 1/2 marathon for the first time in Jamaica. It was in South Africa with fellow missionaries, Ellie and Sam, that I decided to jump off a chair and scream as I felt God call me to a half marathon. They agreed, I needed to go for it and prayed for me! God was teaching me to enjoy the journey and remember!
This race had three "Gauntlets" or places where DC had to open up traffic again by a certain time, so the runners had to pass these points at a certain time in order to continue to run the full marathon. The running pace had to be faster than 14 mins per mile which was really close to my estimated pace. So passing through these "Gauntlets" was so amazing, knowing I was called to run all 26.2 and I could have the chance! They were miles 17, 20 and 22.
My amazing cheering squad
Wow!! These three have been supporting this running journey since day 1; encouraging me, believing in me and releasing me to run. So thankful for my husband, Dan, and children, Olive and Valor. On practice runs, they would meet me and celebrate the end of my run, often carrying my vest in or bringing me food or Gatorade! This accomplishment was a group effort with them included in my victory! And Grandma and Grandpa McClelland when we transitioned to PA were so supportive too.
Danny (running) and Elissa and their family, who are good friends and hosted us this weekend were such a support to me. Danny shared so many running tips with me during the training. It was so fun when we realized he was doing this marathon, too, and we would complete our first marathon on the same day!
Casey and Emily and their family from Grove City were there. Casey ran the marathon, and Emily was there cheering us on! Emily actually ran with me for a short time and prayed for me which I really NEEDED!!! It was an answer to prayer. I will share more below but I got double prayer in this area, and it was such a needed blessing.
John, an experienced marathon runner, also ran the Marine Corp Marathon. Both John and Deb, from our area in PA, were praying and cheering me on too. Unfortunately due to the Uber/Merto delay, I was not able to see him before the race but so fun to know that we ran it together. Thankful for the tips he and Deb shared along the way!
YWAM DC/David's Tent Community: During the run, I ran right pass David's Tent, the 24/7 worship tent on the National Mall, that Dan and I served at. A few friends, like Kate and Chris, Jason and Kimberlee and their families, and Taundi, came out to support me on the day!
I knew they would be there, and I was looking for them! I needed their encouragement. It was so great to hug the kiddos and ,as you can see in the picture, it was such a relief to see Dan!
Special note: Dan ran a marathon in 2013 in Cleveland, Ohio. During his marathon, when he saw me on the side of the road cheering, he surprised me by stopping and giving me a quick kiss! I seriously, beamed for 45 mins, I felt so special that Dan would stop in the race! Therefore, I planned to do the same thing this time for him and hug the kids. I am so glad I did!
At Mile 16, I really started to struggle, I also saw many people fall or get injured. Some needed medical care. It was hard for me to see, and I was pretty emotional (no, not Carole, lol). I actually texted Dan saying," I know I am supposed to run past David's Tent, but I need prayer! Can you get people together and have everyone pray for me for one minute? Then I will continue to run!"They did, and it was so good to stop and get some hugs and prayer!
Then to my surprise and great encouragement, Jason and Dan started to run with me. They both ran a mile- and- a- half with me! I shared my struggles and how I was feeling, and they prayed for me. We even sang "O The Blood of Jesus"; the first time I sang, and then the second time they encouraged me to just listen as I was breathing heavy. (Believe it or not, I was on mile 19 and singing!)
Jason and Dan helped keep up my pace and get me through a hard mile. I was pumped knowing I would make it through the Gauntlets (time cut offs) and finish the race!
Not only were there people cheering and praying for me in DC but all over the nation! I learned the day before the race, that there was an app where family and friends could track me during the race. I quickly sent it to my family to be able to follow along. It was fun, running across the "lines" knowing that my family members were following me.
I had family from both sides of our family following me including my sisters and brothers, cousins, aunts and uncles, and nieces and nephews from all over the states! And it was super special that my sister, Tiffany, helped make sure that my dad, who is still in rehab from his hospital visit, was all set up. My sister sent messages to my mom during the race too! And my mom sent around 50 encouraging messages to me during my race. I got to read them afterwards and they made me smile. She is one of my biggest cheerleaders! Thank you, Tiffany for making this happen!
There was a special mile during the race called the Blue Mile: where we remembered the Marine Soldiers who have given their lives in service. It is a sober and quiet mile, where runners slow down and honor the soldiers. This year the marathon was also dedicated to the "women in service". It is such an honor to know my Aunt Judi, who served in the Marine Corp, was cheering me on and praying for me during the race honoring woman in the service.
Not only did I have my family praying and cheering me on, but I had over 27 people who signed up to take a specific mile(s) to pray for! In fact, some miles had more than one person praying as there were more and more people who wanted to pray! There are so many prayers that were answered on race day, from quick bathroom stops to strength at the hard miles to making it through all the Gauntlets and more! There were so many texts, emails and messages of encouragement, prayers and congratulations! Thank you!
One testimony that I wanted to share is about Mile 24 and 25. They were my hardest miles! I had never run 24 or 25 miles, my highest miles in training was 23, and I was tired when I reached mile 24. My body was aching, my knees, hips and toes hurt, and I was tired. I knew I would have energy for the last mile and people would be cheering me on during it, but these were hard and quiet. I was exhausted and strongly felt I just needed to walk, but I decided I needed permission from my "coach", my husband, Dan, to walk, as my goal was to run the whole 26.2 miles. So I took out my phone to message him. However, before I could text, I saw a message from Susan, pictured above, who was praying for Mile 24 and 25. She had ran a marathon before and said these were her hardest miles. She texted, "Getting changed so I can run Mile 24 and 25 with you. You are doing amazing!! Home stretch!!!" I thought, " I can not text Dan now. I can not walk these miles if Susan, as an act of praying for me, is actually running outside in Wisconsin right now! I have to continue to run!" I put my phone back in my pocket and ran. Truthfully, it was still hard. I forgot to eat and forgot my motivational listening plan, Darlene Cummingham's audiobook called Values Matter. It was just me and Holy Spirit, God with us, running! It was hard and slow, my slowest 2 miles for the whole marathon, with a 16.00 mile pace when my average was 13.00/13.30 the whole race but I ran, moving each foot forward one after the other. This is where I prayed for Deaf World as a whole, each country by name and missionaries by name. I prayed for the pioneering process, I prayed for the struggle of Deaf missionaries to stay on the mission field and the desire to "give up". I prayed and I ran the race set before me, fixing my eyes on Jesus praying!
As I prayed for these missionaries, I also remembered our history and the journey of arriving where we are today. I was so thankful that as you volunteered to pray for me, I also asked 27 YWAM Deaf World missionaries or past students/staff to join into the prayer team for each mile!! I have trained in the heat of Jamaica, streets of Brazil, mountains of South Africa and the hills of PA, USA. Many of these missionaries have been with me in this journey; an act of intercession for more Deaf Missionaries to be send into the unreached world! So to have people pray from all over the world, was so special!
Heat of Jamaica.
Precious, my beloved juice lady, on the way back on long runs in Jamaica! She always had my Cran-WATA ready for me. And my good Deaf friend, Donna, would always encouraged me when I passed her shell shop!
Anna and Tyler running a 5k race with me the first time I ran 10K in Jamaica in May 2023.
And Veledise and Tycen cheering me on during the half marathon in Jamaica in December 2023, when Dan and the kiddos could not make it!
On the streets of Brazil when the DTS staff and students cheered me on as I trained after a teaching week!
Mountains of South Africa and finishing the Park Run with Hester, a Deaf DTS student! 
Caleb even came on his vacation to Chicago to support our triathlon!
Two Missionaries actually made voice messages for me to listen to during their mile. One, who is a Deaf missionary in Jamaica, even got an interpreter for me to be able to listen to her prayer easily on my run. I LOVE THIS and am so thankful for her thoughtfulness. I listened to it three times during the race! I so needed these prayers and all of the other prayers during the race. There were a total of over 55 people praying for me from all over the world. Some sent prayers through emails, texts or WhatsApp, some ran with me, some prayed fervently at home. And I know there was more of you praying that were not counted here! I FELT THEM!!! Thank you for praying with me, walking with me on this day and praying for more Deaf people to know Jesus! I would have not been able to complete this marathon without you! THANK YOU!
Arriving to the last mile took a long time. My pace slowed down but I ran, keeping my eyes and body moving forward to the finish. I made it. I knew that I could make it, one last mile, and I gave it my all, finishing the last mile at 14.30 min while running up the steep hill strong, crossing the finish line at the Marine Corp War Memorial.
I finished the 26.2 race set before me fixing my eyes on Jesus! I did my best! I finished with a pace of 13.44 average per mile, making it through every "Gauntlet"! With a finishing time of 6.00.01! There were challenges, physical, mental, emotional and spiritual, but with the cloud of witnesses, my prayer team (YOU), YWAM Deaf World Community and Holy Spirit in me, "I fought the good fight, I finished the race and I kept the faith! 2 Timothy 4;7"
The female Marine that congratulated me when I crossed the finish line!
The lady medical team made sure I was okay. I crossed the finish line and started to slow down, but my emotions got to me and I started crying . So they checked in. I shared that I am physically okay but emotionally I am not sure. She asked if I needed a hug and I responded, "Yes!" as I hugged her twice tightly and just cried!
The Marine Lieutenant that presented me with my medal! (With the Marine Corp War Memorial in the background.)
The medal has a picture of the world on the outside and says
"Celebrating Woman in the Service, Run with Purpose, Finish with Pride"
Reunited and Celebration with Family Afterwards
Olive and Valor were so proud of Mommy!
Dan said we could go to any restaurant and eat anything I wanted. Mommy's pick. I thought about it and what I really craved was a salad! Hahahaha! So we went to Ruby Tuesday's and I got the salad bar. But... we had to get dessert too! And, if anyone knows Carole, it involved brownies and ice cream!
I definitely needed support and help walking after the race. Olive and Valor were the biggest helpers on the drive home, especially in- and- out of gas stations for the bathroom.
We finally made it home past 10 pm Sunday night. It was an amazing day, long but amazing! The next day, I was so excited to wear my new T-shirts!
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith" 2 Timothy 4:7
Thank you again for joining me on this journey. It has been such a joy to share it with you!
