There are many reasons why I love the sport of running. But at the top of the list has got to be the selflessness of runners. If I could point to a recent example, at this weekend's Falmouth Road Race in Falmouth, MA, Molly Seidel, fresh off her bronze medal performance in the women's marathon at the Tokyo Olympics, participated in this classic 7 mile race.
But instead of starting the race up front with the other elite women, she started at the very back of Sunday's 8,000-plus participant pool. Her goal? For every runner she passed, the race organizers would donate $1.00 to Tommy's Place, a vacation home in Falmouth for children with cancer.
They ended up donating $4,761 to that worthy cause.
Stop for a moment and ask yourself, WWID? What would I do? What could I do? I personally think Molly is not very exceptional. Many of us runners have leveraged a race for charity. She just takes it to a new level. And for that, Molly, I say thank you. You can pass me any time you like.