Wednesday, April 26, 2017

November Project at Lincoln Memorial

My name is Grace. I'm one of those crazy runners who runs ultra marathons (that's any distance beyond the iconic 26.2 miles). I've run 100 miles in under 24 hours. I've also run a few marathons and a bunch of 10 km road races too. Most of my runs and races have been on trails all across this beautiful nation. I've had the immeasurable pleasure of running in the deserts of Arizona, the forests of southern California, the mountains of Utah, national parks and forests of Virginia, the Talladega National Forest in Alabama, and so many more places. Running has shaped a lot of who I am.

I grew up out west and spent more time camping during the summer than not. From Boy Scout camps all over Utah, California, Arizona, Wyoming, Idaho, and Colorado to church camps and family adventures all over the western United States, I spent a lot of my young life outside and treasure our nation's protected parks and forests. I earned my Eagle award and am a Vigil Honor recipient in the Order of the Arrow, scouting's honor society of camping.

In school, I learned about our nation and its history. In elementary, I wrote a report about one of our nation's greatest leaders, Abraham Lincoln. In junior high, I competed on the school's Constitution Bowl team and had the entire Bill of Rights and most of the other Amendments to the Constitution memorized. In high school, I had the opportunity to do an internship with my local state congressman. In freshman English at college, we thoroughly analyzed and discussed Reverend King's infamous speech. How I yearned to go to DC someday to see the Lincoln Memorial, the White House, the Capitol, and so many more of the great landmarks scattered across the district and the general region that I had learned about in school.

After college, I got a job in Arizona working for the US Army. I loved it there and thought I'd never leave but got a job at Fort Belvoir six years later. I couldn't believe it, I was 15 miles from the nation's capital! But I rarely came into the district because of traffic and the hoards of people. My western roots vied for more space.

Then I got a job in DC. I had heard of this group called November Project but was skeptical.  As an ultra runner, I felt that I needed to run at least ten miles a day, and I usually preferred to run alone for personal quiet time. Then a dear ultra runner friend invited me to join about the same time that I started commuting into DC. How could a short half-hour workout help my training!? I came anyway and don't regret the decision. I am a better person and runner because of this group.

I had struggled to find a safe place where people accepted my gender identity without reservation. This amazing group though, did just that. Without batting an eye, they took me in with open arms and a warm embrace, literally. They are living and promoting the Reverend's dream.

In a nation that is struggling to find itself, struggling to connect peaceably with each other, we need more community. In a nation where communities live in fear of being gunned down, we need more open and respectful discussion. In a nation where guns are flying off the shelves in fear, we need more human connection, more hugs, more excitement, more positivity.

For nearly three years, this group has met in the shadows of President Lincoln and also run past the inscription that memorializes where Reverend King stood on that momentous day over fifty three years ago.  

That inscription reads "I have a dream. Martin Luther King, Jr. The march on Washington for jobs and freedom. August 28, 1963." At November Project workouts, everyone is welcome. Everyone gets a hug. Everyone holds hands. Regardless of skin color, religion, age, sex, fitness level, political views, sexual preference or gender identity. Everyone watches the sun as it slowly rises above Washington Monument.  This is November Project!


In the words of Reverend King we invite you to join us, "We cannot walk alone. And as we walk, we must make the pledge that we shall always march ahead. We cannot turn back."