Welcome traveler to The Explorer – April 2024, the Month of Drive.

“Emotions drive behavior. Every decision is an emotional decision at some level.” — James Clear, Author of Atomic Habits

Runners in every direction. There was nothing short of the smell of resilience in the air as each participant was pushing themselves to their fullest.

On one side were the Achilles NYC runners who are those with disabilities with two runners on each side to guide them through the course. On the other were runners with time markers guiding others with checkpoints for their pace. All of which were surrounded by more athletes from all backgrounds.

With open ears absorbing the diverse crowd on both sides, there was nothing short of energy flowing through this race. The many bands gifting us with a taste of their music, viewers holding up signs such as a Mario mushroom power-up signs (this showed up 4x), and above all, the volunteer staff preparing the Gatorade cups and water every 1.5 miles.

A few gulps of Gatorade and a drench of water over my head at each station brought it back to square one. Start again and push to the next checkpoint. With the cold water pulling focus away from the aching muscles, each refresh was another wake-up to stay in this moment.

No matter what mile it was, it was mile 1 all over again.

New York City’s running scene is one of the most inspiring I’ve run through. So many different people of all backgrounds with unique stories all gathered here and each one of us was running our race.

Regardless of the disabilities, the distance, or the falls, we were all doing it with the support of each athlete around us.

I find this is a great metaphor for life. No one can run your race but you, yet there will also be those around you running similar races, cheering you on at the sidelines, and supporting you with some water or Gatorade at a checkpoint.

Find those people and start again. Soon enough you’ll reach that end goal of finishing up the race. Good luck!