I don’t know how many of you have ever heard of Lauren Manning but if you haven’t , you should check her out.

As I veer toward the elevators, I suddenly feel an incredible sense of otherworldliness. It’s an odd, tremendous, quaking feeling. Everything . . . moves. I hear a huge, whistling rush of air, an incredibly loud sound: shshooooooooooooo. And then, with an enormous, screeching exhalation, fire explodes from the elevator banks into the lobby and engulfs me. An immense weight pushes down on me, and I can barely breathe. I am whipped around. Looking to my right, where the two women were talking, I see people lying on the floor covered in flames. Like them, I am on fire.

I read Greg and Lauren’s first book several years ago (“Love, Greg and Lauren” ) when it was first published in 2002 and it was/is brilliant. Greg (Lauren’s husband) collected all the emails and letters he had written to friends and family chronicling Lauren’s life and death struggle after she was burned over 82% of her body in 9/11.

I was so touched by her courage and will to live and the love from Greg and all around her that it has stuck with me all these years. But you see, I had the luxury of reading the story and then going about my life doing anything and everything I wanted. Lauren wasn’t so lucky – she was the one living the nightmare. And she was existing or so it probably seemed – through all the surgery, infection and pain this woman continued to hang on and fight. I am pretty sure I couldn’t handle all that she had to go through so that puts her even higher on my “courage, determination, and inspiration” list.

In 2002 I did the “Face of America” bicycle ride honoring 9/11 – we rode from Ground Zero to the Pentagon in 3 days. Here’s a quote from me as I was featured (I have no idea why though) in that ride booklet and again in a commemorative article in 2011:

Terrie Wurzbacher was an active duty member from the U.S. Navy. A native New Yorker and a Washington D.C. resident who has epilepsy, Wurzbacher looked to the Face of America to support each other. “This ride is giving us the opportunity to do more than just fly the flag,” she said. “[The ride] will help dispel the myth that having a disability precludes accomplishing a major goal – my epilepsy will not stand in the way of my training for and succeeding in this ride. There are other riders with other conditions, many with asthma, some with heart conditions.”

As an aside, I am so grateful that I was featured because it allowed a man whom I had worked with (and apparently successfully influenced his life) to find me amongst that morass of riders. One morning after it had rained pretty much all night, I went to my bike and saw something on it and being the true New Yorker that I am was wondering who had “messed with my bike”. But then I saw that it was a note from him. He had found my number and looked through all the bikes to find it and leave the note. We were able to hook up and ride into the Pentagon (one of the most emotional moments of my life) together – arm in arm – not an easy thing to do on a bike!

But I digress.  At Ground Zero as we were getting ready to leave NYC on our journey South Lauren spoke. As we filed by we got to shake hands with her and I made my way over to her and in a choked up voice thanked her for her courage and for being there only 1 year after her tragic experience. That was an extremely touching memory for me. It stuck we me as we battled the headwinds along the coast and wanted to quit. I kept remembering this diminutive woman and how much she had endured and then simply laughed at myself for even considering stopping instead of pushing ahead against the wind. It was only wind and only slightly uncomfortable. It wasn’t the 24/7 agony that Mrs. Manning went through and still had to go through.

So next time you want to quit something, I hope you remember this post and this woman. I also hope you read the two books about her – the latest is titled “Unmeasured Strength” and that’s an understatement.

She is an inspiration and just seeing her alive and so active at this point is an inspiration to everyone!

Think about her courage and act “as if”.

Terrie

Two years ago I was captivated by a woman who was doing something I couldn’t even imagine attempting. That woman was Diana Nyad. I had never heard of her but “somehow” (remember that there are NO accidents” in the Universe) I found out about this attempt to swim from Cuba to Florida.  The reason it’s strange that I even found out about it is that I never watch the news and really only scan CNN.com to see if the world ended the previous day. I’m not into all the negativity spread by the news. Regardless of the reason I am so glad I found out about her swim. I followed her intensely following her every stroke and reading about her endurance training. At this point I had not started running again so I was living vicariously through her – I was trying to live vicariously through her anyway – but what she was attempting was way beyond my comprehension at that point in my life. I didn’t understand how you could swim or be in the water (not touching anything) and stay awake for about 63 hours. At that point in my life I only knew of 100 mile races, not the 24, 48,  72 hour or longer runs. But even on land you can sit down and take a “power nap” (whatever that is) – in the water you might drown. I think I was focused on that fact so I wanted her to succeed for a couple of reasons – she’s 1 year younger than me, she’s a woman, and this was an amazing feat – but also because she was so passionate about achieving her dream and she had trained for it – boy had she trained for it.

The “gun” went off so to speak as she dove into the Ocean and began her trek. There weren’t enough updates on Facebook or Twitter to make me happy.  It was difficult going to bed – I felt like I was abandoning her – isn’t it interesting what feelings and thoughts heroes can generate in us.  Anyway, I remember waking up several times during the night and checking my ipad for updates.  I remember experiencing the ups and downs of her journey as she battled problems almost from the very beginning – from her shoulder pain to then the asthma attacks from the medication for the shoulder pain. But despite being depleted from that experience she persevered (I think that Diana Nyad personifies that word in its total meaning) and swam on. But then the dreaded “Box” jellyfish which I (and many others) had never heard of attacked her. Once more, though, despite the excruciating pain she continued on until she was attacked by them again. I can’t imagine going through all that and still staying in the ocean and trying to continue to swim. She won my heart then and never lost it after that. I’m pretty loyal to my heroes and I felt so badly for her when she had to abandon her dream. Everyone could tell she was crushed and even though you knew deep in your heart that she was going to rise above that disappointment, it still hurt to the quick at the time. She didn’t even  get her 15 minutes of fame. I was so impressed that she was not only upset at not achieving her dream but also because she felt she let all of us and her crew down. How could she possibly think that we all wondered. But I can definitely understand it because when people support you so completely, you do not want to do anything that will keep them from reaching their goal too – and the goal of everyone else had been to help her succeed. I imagine that people were disappointed FOR Diana, not because of her. And I’m sure she eventually came to realize that because she’s a champion.

Time passed and nothing heard – I thought she had “retired” from that dream and was now living a “normal” life – whatever that is.

Then one day a year later I saw that the Swim was on again. At this point I was running again and training for New York so I had a tiny idea of what working to achieve a goal was like. So I began to follow her with even greater fervor.

She was more determined that year and had spent a great amount of effort trying to come up with something that would combat the Box Jellyfish if not prevent them. She had her personal Jellyfish expert there with her.

Finally she jumped in the water again and we all thought this was the year! She was doing so well and was able to deal with the stings the first night but then they began to take their toll on her body and other factors came into play – weather dangers to be exact. So, you take the medical issues (and inability to hold onto anything while still being treated – can you imagine visiting your doctor in the water?) and then the horrible weather issues and there’s no way anyone could help but admire this woman’s courage and tenacity. She was very determined to show the world that older people can do things without the world being shocked. Age is only a frame of reference and it’s in your mind (as an aside, I think this is why I get bothered or surprised when everyone says something about my age or thinks that I’m too old to be walking let alone running the marathon) – Diana was standing up for millions of people in her attempt. But the fact that she continued despite all the adversity even if she didn’t complete the swim was testimony enough to her abilities and to the fact that you can do anything you want at any age.

No, she didn’t finish the swim to Florida – they pulled her out for her safety and for the safety of the crew but she gave everything she had to that attempt. How can anyone help but admire Diana Nyad for her two attempts to conquer the Jellyfish – it had really become a battle of the jellyfish not a battle of the elements or battle of fatigue or anything else. It was Diana vs the Box – and unfortunately mother nature won that part of the battle. The rest of the battle and the entire journey had been real and inspiring and had given all the rest of us mere mortals something to think about and try to emulate on our own personal level. I know that some of my friends endure this type of thing daily and weekly and I admire them more than they ever know but Diana so far is the one person who has attempted something that would actually scare the dickens out of me.

Thank you, Diana Nyad for these two attempts and two ventures that inspired me and give me courage and determination to continue on in whatever I’m attempting. You’ve given everyone – not just old folks – a new look on life and we are indebted to you.

Terrie

Another runner who has inspired me – imagine that…LOL. Kevin Brosi is such an unassuming man and I have only really talked to him once beyond “hi good job” in passing on the course. But considering the over 12 marathons he did in 12 days (it might have even been 15 in a row) he did with a very bad knee that had to be operated upon early January 2013.

He had to walk alot during those marathons and you knew deep in your heart that even that hurt like hell but he didn’t reflect it in his outer being. He continued to be supportive and helpful and caring for others as he limped along.

He never complained or used it as an excuse. I found out about his damage and scheduled surgery from someone else, not even from him. That elevated him in my mind even more. He wasn’t out there after sympathy or compassion for others. He was out there to accomplish a mission and you know it was tearing him up to not be able to run like he’s used to. But he didn’t let it deter him from being out there “competing” with others.

From some of the additional photos I’ve posted here, you’ll see how important Kevin is to other runners in this wonderful family. He helped create our Stonewall – our own Alamo – along the race course over all those days. Then in Houston we all held a sign that said “we miss you Kevin”  to cheer him up and let him know that “out of sight, out of mind” did NOT apply to him at all.

And he’s come back strong to run the Cowtown marathon last weekend. Congratulations on your return Kevin.

He exemplifies the courage and toughness that all these ultrarunners have and that I wish I could emulate. They are tough and Kevin’s amongst the toughest – doing over 300 miles in 12 consecutive days on a completely trashed knee is the hallmark of courage for me. Something that I hope I can emulate when the going gets tough in my runs. I will never be of the caliber that Kevin is but I hope I can have some of the courage and toughness that he has.

Learn to endure, not complain, look for the positive and no matter what, just keep going! As Winston Churchill said – Never give up! and Kevin didn’t. I’m so glad he’s back and doing well. I am very happy to have met you and to be able to recognize your courage and perseverance. You are a true gentleman, Kevin!

Terrie

Today is a happy memory in the inspirational category for me. Even though I’m late today because I had to give a class last night I have great memories of these two honorees today. I decided to put them together because although they have inspired me in many ways since I first met them, that one Saturday in February was the greatest inspiration and they both got me through that day – without Renee especially I would NOT have been able to complete my 50 miler.

I first met Greg and Renee probably at Thanksgiving but I met so many people then that I’m not sure who I met then and who I met over the Christmas races.  They have both been so amazingly friendly that I have been grateful to them every time and no matter how many marathons in a row they had done, they were always smiling and encouraging me on.

Then came Rocky Racoon 100 miler and Greg completed that – anyone who completes a 100 miler is a hero in m y book and not only did he do it but Renee crewed/paced him. She ran at least 40 miles with him and guided him when he couldn’t think any more (and didn’t want to think). So, together they got Greg to the finish line! Completion of a 100 mile run is something I think should be tatooed on a person’s forehead as a badge of honor forever. But that’s just my opinion. I now know alot of folks who’ve completed 100 milers (and achieved many other accomplishments) that I feel so fortunate to know all these strong people – strong physically but more importantly they are strong in their character and emotional/spiritual demeanor too.

Well, the week after Rocky Racoon was the 50 miler. Remember how scared I was. I had posted about it on Facebook and Renee sent me a message that touched me even though I didn’t totally understand what it meant until the day of the event. She said she’d asked if she could start late (she was doing a 50 K after having run 40 plus miles with Greg less than 7 days before) so she could be out there with me. Well, this was a loop race so I thought that was very nice of her to want to see me although I didn’t quite understand what starting late had to do with that (I’m a novice about alot of these things so I was sure there was something I was missing..LOL).

Saturday came and I did the first loop (in the dark) with the whole gang. Then a couple of more loops went by and by about mile 20 I was convinced there was no way I was going to be able to complete the 50 miles. Then I saw Renee as we were passing near the start/finish line. She said she’d been looking for me and she’d see me in a bit. I was still clueless but, of course, happy to see a friendly face. Next thing I knew she was near me and was pacing me. That’s what she had meant. She was actually going to run with me. That had never happened to me before and I didn’t know how to react (I’ve always been such a loner because I’m so slow). I was happy but worried that she’d be bored (etc) trying to slow down for me. But I have to tell you that those 5 miles she worked with me and helped me, giving me a hand down “My Nemesis” and asking me how I was going to prepare for the various aid stations and just talking to me was a life saver. I got my enthusiasm back and felt that I had energy again. I actually thought maybe I could do it. She was phenomenal and so understanding. She was so helpful that I should give my medal to her (but I’m so proud of it I’m  not going to and I hope she understands) because I would not have finished without her. Then, on top of that she had to finish her own 50 k and do it before dark because she didn’t have a headlamp. I knew she was concerned about that and encouraged her to go on alone. She was torn but I wanted her to make good time.

When we started the second lap, Mr. 100 miler joined us – I was simply amazed that he could even walk to say nothing of run but he came along with us. Then we were able to get Renee to go along and do her own race so she could finish (I was indebted to her the whole time after that). I encouraged Greg to go too because I sure didn’t want to hold back a “guy” – one that could do a 100 miler and be out running the next day. But he stuck with me. I was so surprised and honored that he cared enough about me to want to help me get through this milestone.  He was so kind and caring and gentle. He was telling me some about his experience and I was enthralled with all he told me about Rocky Racoon. But he got me through another 5 miles and thanks to these two great, giving  people I was able to get to the point where Parvaneh took over for the last 20 miles. I would still be looking for my 50 miler medal if it weren’t for these two fabulous people.

They don’t know me yet they went out of their way just 7 days after experiencing pain and exhaustion to help me reach a goal that they could tell was so important to me.

How special and unusual is that? I don’t know how to thank them enough but certainly hope that I get the opportunity to some day

Thank you Greg and Renee! I appreciate your friendship and your help so very much!

Terrie

Colonel (Ret) Martin Tittle was my boss for about 3 years and I have to tell you that this man personified everything I could possibly want to be. He has all the qualities and characteristics you could list as desirous traits. And I mean ALL of them.

You’ve read about some pretty remarkable people in the past 10 days but Col Tittle is the composite of all of them.

He was never ever without a smile for anyone and everyone. And when you’re a leader in a military organization that mixes military and civilians, that’s not easy to do. And it was never a forced smile either. He was sincere whenever he looked at you and asked you how you were – he really wanted to know – not the perfunctory “how are you” while sliding away before you had a chance to really tell him how you were 🙂

Col Tittle is THE most positive person I’ve ever known. There was no problem that couldn’t be solved. And the cool thing is that he wasn’t a “Rah Rah” cheerleader type – the kind that makes you want to throw up they’re so positive. He was sincere and when you talked to him you just knew there was going to be a solution even if it took awhile to find it and get there. You knew he would be there with you – right along side of you – as you searched for the path and then traveled it.  You always had him there partnering with you. And even though you felt as if you had your best friend with you, you also knew and respected the fact that he was the leader – he never had to flaunt that or remind you that he was the boss. It was inherent in his being.

Charisma is not a word I would naturally associate with this man but depending on your definition of charisma, he might just fill the slot – everyone liked him and respected him. It was amazing how he could pick up the phone and smooth the ruffled feathers of someone and then let them know that he was on their side too.

What I found most remarkable about Colonel Tittle was his response to adversity. This goes beyond the pale. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and had to undergo chemotherapy and radiation (and all the attendant side effects) and yet he NEVER missed one day of work. Unbelievable! He was miserable and most of us would be in bed going “woe is me” and just trying to get our energy back and he was there in the office working as hard as ever. He knew it was important from both his perspective as well as to give the proper appearance to the troops – a true leader. He acted as he felt he was “supposed to” but did not expect the same from us – that’s an interesting dichotomy when you think about it. It simply was his work ethic. But he never told you when we were whining about having a cold or something minor  “well, you know I came to work every day no matter what I was going through”. Often times you’ll get that from people. He was more than happy to let you take whatever time you needed either for mental or physical recuperation. He knew the importance of that. And he knew that not everyone was so invested in their job and he didn’t expect everyone to give 110% like many other leaders do. But as a result of “not expecting” it he got it – and even more. There isn’t anything that we wouldn’t do for him. Truly amazing man.

He is a man of faith and I’m sure that that sustained him no matter what happened and we should all look toward his example. Many profess to be “of faith” —- until things don’t go so great in their lives. I believe that that’s whey he got stronger.

All I know is that I wish he still were my boss (nothing against my current boss- it’s just that Colonel Tittle is one of a kind).  I do know that when things get tough, I call upon his courage and determination and try to go deep within to find the qualities I so admire in him.

Thank you Colonel Tittle for being in my life and being such a brave and kind man!

Terrie