Thanksgiving and the power of gratitude

Running can be a selfish sport, especially long distance running (think about it - we are out there, mostly/sometimes on our own, having time to ourselves). However, we won't be where we are or be able to get to where we want to go without the support of our families, friends and fellow runners. The holiday season (well, any time really) would be a great time to express gratitude and spend time with them. Personally, I am very grateful this year to my Western States 100-mile crew and pacers for helping me achieve one of my dream goals, as well as any race volunteer who helps put on a race. A positive emotion, like gratitude, can be a very powerful thing in carrying you forward, especially when things are going rough (like when training is not going so well or in the later stages of a marathon or 100-miler). Sometimes it really helps to think about how privileged we are, that we can do what we are doing, to have bodies capable enough to run and explore the world around us, and to have and share these powerful experiences. So, thank your family, your friends and any awesome volunteers, who are out there on race day helping you along the way!

Thank the race volunteers for being at your beck-and-call on race day! (They may be a bit bananas...eh eh eh.)

On this Thanksgiving day, I also wanted to take this opportunity to thank all my past and current clients so much for being the first clients of Chris Neoh Coaching, LLC. Thank you all for taking a chance with me, believing in me, in yourselves and in your own goals. You all have awesome goals, whether it is losing weight, running your first marathon, training to get any kind of personal record, finishing your first 100-mile race or getting a podium spot in Obstacle Course Racing (OCR). Even just getting back to consistent running is an awesome goal! We are all starting from different places. One of my own (albeit, scary) goals this year was to strike out on my own and grow my running coaching business to be a sustainable source of income. Thank you all for being a huge part of me being on my way to achieving that goal!