Are you spreading the love?

Happy almost Valentine’s Day, readers! Today’s post is all about love. If you’ve been lucky enough to find it, you’ll know what I mean when I say it makes you feel glad to be alive and you just want to shout it from the hilltops or rooftops or whatever one does when in love. I was lucky enough to witness the love today so of course I cannot wait to tell you all about it!

I volunteered to help out with the Greenwood Multisport Club’s Splash n Dash this morning and we had a few adults and several kids(all under 12) show up to participate in the swim/run event. As a fitness event planner, I make a living off seeing people of all ages challenge themselves physically and I enjoy being able to help events like this happen. I found love at the indoor track this morning but the love I witnessed today had nothing to do with me.

The Under 9 speed demons were the last ones to run the track and as they lined up, I was assigned to recording the lap times for a lovely little athlete named Maria with a fitness centre staff, Eric. Maria made it to her sixth (of 8) lap and stopped. We cheered her on but she wasn’t moving. The other kids kept going, a few slowed down but they were all on the move. My colleague ran out to meet her and before you know it, she was walking the rest of her lap. He wrote down her lap time as they went by, but he kept moving and so did she. He stayed by her side until she had decided she could finish on her own. He didn’t know her before that race, but he refused to let her give up.

I am so grateful I witnessed that this morning because that right there is love. Love of appreciating how important pushing yourself through that tough stretch is. Love of growing sport by encouraging young athletes to experience it. Love of what you’re doing so much that you’ll coach a struggling stranger across the finish line without a second thought.

When people in love with sport spread that love like Eric did this morning, new athletes with a passion for health and fitness emerge, and isn’t that why we’re in this business to begin with? Get out there and spread the love!