Mementos: First 5K Race Shirt

Cleaning out my garage this past Sunday, I came across a t-shirt from the first 5K race I ever ran: the 2014 Run Like Hell Pushing Up Daisies 5K at Oakland Cemetery

I signed up for the race because I wanted some accountability for exercising. I knew I’d have to train if I was going to run a 5K, and I figured given my love of cemeteries, I would have sufficient motivation to stick to my training plan if I signed up for this race.

Looking at the t-shirt now, I can’t help think of it as a sign of what was to come. Within the past year, I’ve become both a personal trainer at a gym and a volunteer tour guide at Oakland Cemetery.

I also ran my first marathon this past March–five years after my first 5K. The marathon course travelled all around Atlanta, but my favorite part was around mile 24 when we ran past the gates of Oakland Cemetery. Because I knew then how far I’d come.