Saturday, November 1, 2008

My Best Friend -- Run Katie! Run!

Katie McGregor… my best friend! I love this girl! She is awesome and the very definition of a best friend. What I love most about her is her honesty, intensity and commitment. Whatever she makes her mind up to do she’s in it, and will do well, giving all of herself to it! As her friend, I always know where I stand with her. If I do something out of character, she calls me on it, and demands a level of expectation from myself, I might have forgotten. She’s been my cheerleader in all my endeavors and a shoulder to cry on in moments of disappointment.

But, beyond her infinity qualities of being a best friend, she is an INCREDIBLE athlete. She is a 10,000m runner, but can run anything from 5,000m to a marathon! In an overwhelming shock to most who watched the USA Olympic Trials, she just missed qualifying for the Olympic Games, placing 4th in what seemed like a certain Olympic birth. And even in her moment of disappointment she was able to look past it and still cheer me and her other friends on, in our quest for an Olympic Games birth. Although, she must have held frustration and disappointment she never showed it, displaying a brave face as she turned her focus to assuring I would qualify for the Olympic Games.

Tomorrow she will have her own Olympic Games variation. She is running in the New York Marathon. She’s only run a marathon once before, (actually the very same marathon in 2006) running an incredible time of 2:32:36, being the second American to cross the line and even beating Lance Armstrong! I’m told she’s one of the headline runners for the New York Marathon, though she’d be too modest to admit this fact to me. I wish her all the best and will be cheering for her! No matter the results she is definitely a champion in my heart!

She is my inspiration and source of strength! Go Katie, Go!

Love Yah!
Nicole

http://sports.espn.go.com/espnmag/story?id=3531847

KATIE’S ACHIEVEMENTS at a glance:
(This is just a snap shot, her list is way TOO GREAT to list)

2008 USA 10 Mile Championship - 2nd
2008 USA 8k Championship - 2nd
2008 U.S. Olympic Trials 10,000m - 4th
2008 U.S. World Cross Country 8k team
2008 2nd place USA 15k Championships
2008 4th place USA Cross Country Championships
2007 U.S. World Road Running Half Marathon team member
2007 2nd place USA 10k Championship
2007 U.S. World Outdoor team - 10,000m
2007 USA Outdoor 10,000m - 3rd place
2007 National Champion 25k road
2007 Yokohama Ekiden 2nd place USA team
2006 National Champion 10k road
2005 National Champion in 10,000 meters
2005 National Champion 10k road
2005 U.S. World Outdoor team - 10,000m
2003 U.S. World Indoor team - 3000m
2003-2008 U.S. World Cross Country team - 8k

1 comment:

Nicole Wendy Forrester said...

Just for the record, Katie ran AWESOME today! 2:31:14 in only her second ever marathon. She finished 10th and was the 2nd American to cross the line. Way to go!