#25.-The Crone- Med City Marathon (from home) 2020

 The Crone

This archetype is in the trio Maiden-Mother-Crone. I love to dig deep for the Crone, the sage, the intuitive and wise archetype. This energy is powerful. She seeks a deeper path. I feel the Crone energy on my long runs, embodying the solitary run as healing. I sometimes feel like I have “seen it all” in my marathon journey, yet I know that there are so many more things to experience if I keep going on this journey. This enlivens me. I accept all that comes with it, the beauty and the suffering. I try to let go and accept all that is. I know that this journey will throw everything at me. My shadow side can feel isolated at times, like nobody “gets it”. I can get bitter if I feel like I can’t make the time to run and be alone. I like to go deep, stay deep and yearn to run as my primary passion. I am enamored with the tales of long-distance runners and through hikers and their journey of self-discovery.

#25. Med City Marathon- (from home) 2020

After my second pandemic marathon from home I soon found out my next, scheduled for Memorial day weekend in Rochester, Minnesota was also cancelled. So just a few weeks after Eugene, since the weather was still cool and crisp I was ready to do another. My daughter had been riding her bike in front of me as I ran during my training runs and we had become quite the “dynamic duo”. We were deep in pandemic stay-home mode, with freshly razored cuts and the two of us we were off to do our marathon together. My daughter doing her first bike marathon ever. We made a quick start line, had the bike ready, my daughter carried a backpack with all our snacks and gear and we were off! I was excited to share the experience with her. Normally my marathons are a very solitary experience, but for this one I felt like the Crone, the old wise woman with the experience of 24 marathons under my belt and was now ready to share my wisdom.



It was going to be her longest bike ride by far. Since we had been doing a lot of running and biking together, so we were both feeling good about going the distance. She became quite skilled at keeping tabs on me behind her as she rode in front. She got a feel for my pace and we worked in tandem and we became a well oiled machine. We headed out the usual way and then decided to try a different path We took the Luce Line trail, which is straight, flat and hard-packed gravel. Since I did my other marathons from home around the lake, I was looking forward to some new views. Spring had sprung and the plants were greening up. The path was quiet and out-of-the-way. We went straight west, with lakes and natural areas on both sides. The trees were just leafing out and we stopped to look at spring wildflowers like wild ginger and jack in the pulpit in bloom. It was fun to pass on this knowledge. It was definitely different than any other marathon I had done, having a companion with me. We noticed so many things along the way, plum blossoms, beaver chewed tree chunks, rows of turtles out sunning themselves on logs.



After we hit the halfway point at 13.1 miles and we turned around, we did a quick jump before we headed back the way we came. We then checked off the landmarks that we had passed on our way out. My daughter became my cheerleader as the miles dragged on and the sun was heating up and things got hard, as they always do in a marathon. Her encouraging words were very helpful. I was so grateful for her and that during this very strange time we could share this journey together. I’m grateful that I have a sport that I can do anywhere in any weather. I will continue to show up day after day. Over 650 miles of marathon racing has brought me to this point. We got home and there was no big finish line since she had been the artist behind those. She did give me one of her unique handcrafted medals and made one for herself. I think I cherish these medals that she made more than any others that I have. All the hard word and the ability to press on during a global pandemic was no small feat. I focus on all the good that running has brought into my life and how it has changed me fundamentally for the better. Now that I am the mother Crone marathoner.


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