I am always down to get some inspiration, and so many of you ask how I get motivated. Sometimes it’s just doing it for myself and because I love to run, but every now and then there’s a story that I stop and listen too and it takes me to a place where my heart and mind get so overwhelmed. When I stumbled across a post about a girl who wanted to run across the US, I first thought, A. She’s crazy! and B. What an interesting feat. Now, I have no desire to run across the US, a marathon is more than far enough for me, but I really connected with Ashley and her story about her mom. Many of you know that my mom passed away three years ago from breast cancer (you can read about it here). Oddly enough when I saw the pictures of Ashley and her mom, I felt the same connection that I saw in picture of my mom and I. Just looking at their faces, you could see the joy and love that they had for each other. It almost made me teary eyed, okay it did, but it’s that relationship that others can have with their moms, and when people realize it, makes me SO happy. We started chatting on twitter, and the more and more I learned about her and what she stood for, I wanted to get more and more involved in what she was doing. Well since we all know I love to write, and she obviously has taken the ‘love for running’ to a new level, I thought I could do my best to tell all my readers about her.

I got the privileged to talk to her about her upcoming run across the US and why she’s doing it in the first place. I mean running ACROSS the US isn’t a small feat, it’s a 3,230 mile feat. She’s starting in San Fransisco and will travel to New York, NY by foot, and hopes it takes her roughly 6 months running 20ish miles a day. When I talked to her, I first of all wanted to know what was her driving force. I mean, something has to hit pretty deep in order for someone to want to run 3,230 miles, and that’s when I knew I understood the driving force behind what she was doing. She started to describe her relationship with her mom and I got teary-eyed again. Anyone with so much love in their heart and who has the words to describe it like she does is a gift. She described her mom to me and how she dealt with her MS that she’s had for the past 27 years of her life. When she talked about her mom, I could hear the love in her voice that she had for her, over the phone, and it was amazing.

Ashley has her degree in sports medicine and used to work on a cruise ship when she realized that she really wanted to do something to raise awareness to MS and all the effects it has on so many people. She realized that there was something that meant to much to her that she was willing to dedicate her life to the cause. She said, “When people discuss MS so many people don’t really know what it is or even how to deal with it or what it affects.”  Her Mom, Jill, was diagnosed with MS 27 years ago. Multiple sclerosis, or MS, is a chronic, often disabling disease that attacks the central nervous system, which is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and optic nerves. Symptoms may be mild, such as numbness in limbs, or severe, such as paralysis or loss of vision. the progress, severity and specific symptoms of MS are unpredictable and vary from  one person to another. Ashley’s mom has unfortunately lost a lot of the things she used to love to do, including writing poetry, playing the guitar and being active in her daily life.

One thing that Ashley told me that really stuck out to me was the fact that she’d only seen her mom cry about her struggles twice in her life. TWICE. For someone who has every reason to be angry with her situation, Ashley said that you can rarely ever see her NOT smiling. That blows my mind. I saw so many similarities that Ashley explained about her mom and my mom. How watching her struggle daily with MS really showed her the person her mom was, and how lucky she was to have such a strong willed role model in her life. She talked about how she realized what she could do in honor of her mom, and because her mom can’t do so many things she used to love. She is running across the US to raise awareness for MS and to just show people how when putting your mind to things, you can do anything.

Ashley taught herself HTML to make her own site, and went through the process of making MS Run The US a non-profit organization, which included filling out tons of forms and making sure the process would be approved. She told me at some times she struggled through the process, really not knowing where to go next or what to do next, but she was constantly reminded who she was doing this whole journey for when her mom smiled at her.

I know that personally sometimes I grumble about my life, sometimes things don’t go my way, and not everything is exactly how I want it, but then I hear stories like this and realize how many people are out there that have to deal with disease and an altered life and how lucky I am to be able to do everything I want to physically and mentally. Jill once loved to write and cannot write anymore because of how MS hinders her. To have that taken away from me would be devastating, and to see and hear about Jill’s spirit is nothing but inspiring to me.

Another thing that surprised me when we were talking was the fact that Ashley said, “I’m not totally obsessive into running, but I do know that I can do anything for my mom after what she’s been though.” Ashley is just a normal girl who wants to make a huge difference, and that is something that inspires me beyond words. You can follow her on twitter, here, and also make sure to check out her website to learn more about her journey, make a donation, or just encourage her. Knowing that she is doing this in honor of her mom’s battle with her everyday life is something that can inspire us all.

Remember, when you run, walk, drive, eat, there are some people out there who can’t do that. Life is such a blessing, and I am so lucky to be where I am, and have gotten the chance to talk to Ashley about her great journey she will embark on next year. I will probably write more about Ashley and her journey again so stay tuned!

xoxo