Running to the Lowest Point on Earth

On Friday, Oldest daughter, another young woman, and myself, joined in the 'fun', participating in a 10K run ending at the Amman Beach, the Dead Sea, Jordan. The stouter of heart, lungs and legs, ran the half marathon (21K), the full marathon (42K) or the ultra-marathon (48K!). I believe over two thousand runners (and a few walkers) from all around the world participated in this increasingly popular race, held annually to raise money for the Jordanian Neurological Society.

Though Oldest daughter and I were in sort of residual shape from our tri-weekly running schedule pre-audition trip, we had just resumed running a couple of weeks before the race. So, we definitely weren't in tip-top shape, but we were all able to complete the run without walking and in just over an hour.

Why run a 10K? A couple of my friends asked that question...and a couple more are inspired to try to run with me next year! One of the college students that ran the race suggested that running to the "Lowest Point on Earth" was definitely one of those things to check off on the to-do-before-I-die lists which seem to be popular with this generation. Hadn't thought about that as a motivation.

My real motivation was ending Oldest Daughters pre-college fitness training on a positive and accomplished note. My, and especially Dear Husband's, goal for our kids is that they will head off into life with the desire and ability to lead a healthy life, of which physical fitness will necessarily play a part. To that end, the kids have learned to do daily exercises and we run, during the school year, three times a week. The running has never been a favorite part of Oldest Daughter's life, and that is putting it mildly. Dear Husband has, not so secretly, desired that Oldest Daughter discover her "Inner Athlete" and I think that participating in the Dead Sea 10K helped her to do it. "That really wasn't too hard," and "That was kind of fun," were words she actually spoke after running the race!