Conscious Gear

At 48 years young, I realized that I was going to finish my first ultramarathon. Confident because I was familiar with the last two miles of the race and knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that I could finish even if it meant crawling or limping my way across the finish line. More than that, I remember that moment vividly because I fell to the ground, balled up like a baby, and cried my eyes out. These were tears of joy because I realized as a bigger-bodied, black woman who just a few years before could only go for 2 minutes at 2 miles per hour on a treadmill, I was about to complete an ultra race. Not a marathon, not a half-marathon, not a 10k, or even a 5k (all of which I had done before) but 50 miles, God is good.

The best part of the experience was recalling all of those moments during that race when I thought about girl scout camp but even more precious was feeling the presence of the ancestors that I'm convinced that at times, these old souls in the beyond, carried me over miles when my feet were too tired to go on. I walk-limped across that finish line that day knowing several things: Girl scout camp laid the foundation for my love of the outdoors, I'm an outdoor enthusiast who happens to be black, I belong in the outdoors, and whatever I decide to do in the outdoors, I know the ancestors are with me, supporting me and giving me everything I need to be successful.