Many of you may know that my husband and I run marathons together. For those who are not familiar, my husband pushes me in a duo bike, also known as a running chair. His generosity allows me, as someone one who has never had the chance to run, an opportunity to feel the wind in my hair and cross a few finish lines in my lifetime. Together we have run five marathons, including Chicago, New York, Indianapolis, Boston, and Berlin.
With such a busy summer getting our youngest ready to go off to college, we did not feel we had time to train for a full marathon this year. A compromise is that we will do the Indy Monumental half marathon with both of our boys in November. This will be a first, crossing a finish line together as a family of four.
We ran the New York City marathon with our oldest son a few years ago, but we have yet to to run a race with both boys. Running New York together was an incredibly meaningful experience to all of us. We are excited to have them both with us this time.
Normally, we run to raise money for The Muscular Dystrophy Association. Over the years, we have raised thousands of dollars to support research and care for the MDA, all thanks to our many followers, faithful family, and friends.
This time, we are just running for fun – running to raise awareness for Muscular Dystrophy.
Since it is a “hometown” marathon, we wanted to recreate the experience that we had a couple of years ago when we ran the Indy Monumental marathon.
At that time, we had a group of almost 50 friends and family who joined us in our efforts that day. Some ran the 5K, half-marathon, and a few did the full marathon with us. We had shirts made for Team Humbly Courageous and had a large group photo taken that day before the different races began.
We were both so touched by the many who came out to support us and our cause. This time, we are doing the same by gathering a team of runners. Family, friends, and even some people we have not yet met.
We are excited to see this all come together, as we are two weeks into our weekly training runs together for the half-marathon.
If you are running one of those races during the Indy Monumental race weekend, let us know and we would love to include you in Team Humbly Courageous! We want as many friends, family, and community members as possible to join us.
You, too, can join Amy and Jamie Shinneman on Team Humbly Courageous. (Photo provided)
My husband and I also have our first speaking engagement together in October. We were asked to speak to a large professional group about what it is like to run in such a unique way, and what our life has looked like throughout the years as an interabled couple. I have done many speaking engagements over the years telling my story, but joining forces with the one who helps me live life to the fullest is an opportunity that I am so excited about.
When I served as the National Ambassador for the MDA, we adopted the motto, “together we fight.” We continue to find motivation by joining forces with others to help fight against Muscular Dystrophy in many ways. This is one of the ways that we are most passionate about. Our dream is to someday gift someone with a duo bike, just like someone did for us at the beginning of this journey.
I will share an update after the race in November.
Until next time …
Amy Shinneman is a former National Ambassador for the Muscular Dystrophy Association, disability blogger, freelance writer, wife, and mom of two boys. You can find her blog at humblycourageous.com and reach her on Instagram @ashinneman.