Give Love. Always.

This story is shared by Sarah Snyder, member of a Race for a Reason Team and owner of Dahlonega Mountain Sports. Here, Sarah shares her experience participating in the ConnectAbility 5k on Saturday, September 9. Thank you Sarah for being a part of our team!

Today has been another whirlwind day of emotions. Sean and I were fortunate to start our day long before the sun even came up. This year was my 4th or 5th year running the ConnectAbility Race, but my first year really participating. I got to push Angel again, and this time on our home course! I had two folks with us to make sure we were good on the hills (thank goodness!!!!!) and we couldn’t have done what we did without them. Angel had big plans for us. She said last year she finished third and wanted to do better. No pressure, right?!
We flew down Wimpy Mill, letting loose when I heard Team Jon Crais doing some crazy trash talking and I knew Angel could feel the speed because she started to giggle and yell out as we passed runners!
We climbed the Walmart hill…slowly, but surely. We turned back toward town and as soon as we crested the hill by Wells Fargo, Angel said ‘I know you’re gonna kill me, but it’s time to run!’ So I put my head down, and picked up the pace. Luke and Anna were there every step of the way, making sure the path was clear and giving an extra push when we needed it.
As we came into town, on the final stretch, I heard someone coming up behind us, yelling ‘Sarah! I’m coming for you!!’ I looked back and it was none other than Sheriff Jarrard. I was literally running from the law!

As we hit the homestretch, the finish line was lined with folks cheering everyone as they cross the line. 

When the awards ceremony rolled around and they got to Angel’s age group, guess who got first?! She did!!!!!
She also helped my PR my mile today too, which I’m still having a hard time believing, but can we all say WIMPY MILL?! We ran our first 5k together and finished in 32 minutes flat. That course has under 100 feet of gain over the whole course. Today, we finished 30:21 and this course had almost 300 feet of climbing! 

If you’ve never done this race or volunteered, you are truly missing out. This organization is the definition what it means to serve, to give, to love all! 

I cried a lot this morning. As we crossed the finish line, as I watched the awards and saw the look on Angel’s face when they called her name, when she asked me to stand next to her. My heart is full. I’m blessed for this strong, able, and healthy body and I’m even more blessed to be able to share this gift with Angel.
Give love. Always.