Last fall when I signed up as a mentor with Team in Training for their Spring events, I figured it was a great way to help the organization and new participants. All that was required was that I share my experiences (however limited) in running and fundraising, organize weekend Buddy runs so that Team members could meet each other, have someone to run with and stay motivated throughout the winter, send out a few e-mails to check-in on team mates and offer assistance, when/if needed.
Not an overly complicated set of tasks, so I figured even I could pull this one off, and after all, there had been someone there for me in my first season with Team in Training, so it seemed like a good way to Pay it Forward.
What I didn’t count on was how much the whole experience would affect me. I’m fairly confident that I got way more out of mentoring than any of the mentees…I know that’s not the idea, but meeting and getting to know my team mates and hearing their reasons for joining, watching them progress through their training and then hearing their race day stories.
I learned from every one of my team mates that I had the opportunity to run with, sometimes about them, sometimes about myself, but what one of my team mates said at our pre-event dinner in Hamilton, really captured the essence of it all. There’s something profound and indescribable about the connections that were made as we ran those miles together, bantered, shared stories, and ultimately forged new friendships. Perhaps you can’t help but develop a strong bond as you run long distances together, perhaps it has something to do with the shared purpose for our training and fundraising…regardless, there is no denying there is a special bond that forms between team mates when you join and experience Team in Training.
So to my team mates and new friends, THANK YOU to every one of you who allowed me to share in and in some small way be a part of your journey.
I am so very Proud of everything you accomplished, as individuals and as a team.
See you at the races!
Brent,
ReplyDeleteYou have made a large impression on every participant (past, present and future) and for this, we truly thank you! It's amazing that the friendships everyone knows about, sit simmering during the season, not fully ready for presenting to the guests that come to observe and indulge. But at the perfect moment, when all is said and done, they come out of the woodworks and you can see, feel, taste, hear and smell (good and bad) all of the reasons why we were brought together as a Team in the first place. Each seasonal Team has a personality and flair of its own; and the experiences of your first team, get etched into a part of us forever.
Cheers,
J.N.
Beautiful post, Brent. Thanks for your sharing your commitment to TNT and the joy you take from running.
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