Running Disney and merging my Born Just Right world

I started running when Jordan was a toddler. I needed something for me. A healthy outlet. Eventually I learned the joy of running outside. At some point, I even got rid of the headphones and started to appreciate the quiet. I rarely run with other people. It’s me time. It’s peaceful. My world is non-stop and loud. Running is non-stop (on a tough day it’s stop and go) and quiet. Signing up for races is a way to keep me motivated.

This past weekend was one of those race weekends. I grabbed Randy and left the kids behind with their Poppy to fly out to Disneyland for the Inaugural Star Wars Half Marathon Weekend. I took part in my first runDisney event last year with the whole family for the Walt Disney World Marathon Weekend. I ran the half last year. This year, I thought I’d try a challenge called the Rebel Challenge: run a 10K on Saturday and a half marathon on Sunday. That’s 19.3 miles. It’s a little silly. But fun for me.

I love a chance to go places without the kids… Randy and I get to visit bars and restaurants we wouldn’t normally visit if they were with us. And that’s how I finally got to meet a runDisney face I have followed for the last couple of years thanks to the Disney Parks Moms Panel (fondly called DisneyMP) program. This past year, I was a finalist for DisneyMP and I’ve had a chance to get to know a number of the moms on the panel. They answer questions online to people planning a Disney trip. In my circle of friends, I am the person who answers all the Disney questions so I hope to be a member of the panel some day.

Anyway… I was about to walk into Trader Sam’s, a very fun tiki bar near the Disneyland Hotel, when I saw Faith Dority. She’s the runDisney mom on the Disney Mom’s Panel and she just happens to have one hand. I have quietly watched her kick butt at Disney races, blogs and videos as she works with Disney. She’s confident, strong and I really wanted to meet her some day. And there she was, hanging out at Trader Sam’s! How cool is that? I walked up, introduced myself and got all the hugs a girl could want. Faith rocks. She kicked butt with her 19.3 mile challenge while I’m just proud to say I finished! Faith represents my combined happiness from Born Just Right and all the fun Disney stuff I do. Also, she knows how to have fun.

To make our meeting even more special, later in the weekend, we met up with a family Faith has met with each year she goes to a Disneyland race. The family has a beautiful daughter who needed a portion of her arm amputated when she was a baby. Faith has offered tips and guidance each time they meet. I was lucky to be invited to hang out and watch Faith teach how to braid hair. I can’t wait for Jordan to meet them both some day.

Getting to know adults with limb differences is one of the gifts I’ve received from being Jordan’s mom. Having the chance to talk with Faith over the weekend was just awesome. Getting the chance to geek out about running AND our awesome world of limb differences was extra special.