My husband met the sibling of an amazing person yesterday. She told him about her brother and his incredible journey after losing his leg. After reading his story and listening to his video, there was no doubt that I had to feature Jarryd on my website. Jarryd, you have inspired me and you give I CAN Heroes a deeper meaning. Thank you!!!!

Please read Jarryd Wallace’s story below:

THE ROAD TO RIO

I constantly have people tell me, “I would love to run a 5k, but I don’t think that I can”. My response of course is “Yes you can!” Then come all of the excuses as to why they don’t have time to train or a list of all of their aches and pains that are preventing them from doing it. ARE YOU KIDDING ME PEOPLE? If want to run a 5k, then you CAN run a 5k and probably even farther (minus the people that have serious medical issues of course).

The real deal:

Will it be easy? Ummm, probably not, but it will get easier the more you run and/or walk. Will you be nervous the day of the race? I wont beat around the bush…yes you will be. You may be nervous because you don’t know what to expect or you are worried that you won’t finish or because you are just so damn excited! I get nervous every single time. Will you question why you are doing this at about mile 2.25? Yes you will. I know some seasoned runners that question it at times. It’s tough when you are pushing yourself, but you will keep going, and later on you will forget how you “really” felt in that moment. Will you have fun? Yes, you will! The running community is amazing. No matter how much you weigh, how fast or slow you are, or how many races you have run or not run, they are good, fun, encouraging people. Will you feel an overwhelming feeling of accomplishment as you cross the finish line? Heck yes you will! It’s a fantastic feeling every time. Will you sign up for another race immediately following? As sadistic as it sounds, YES YOU WILL. It’s addicting and you will want more. You will want to run more and then you will want to run farther. You will want to purchase cool running shoes and want to win more medals to display on Facebook for the world to see.

There are many different programs online that can walk you through the steps that you need to take to accomplish your goal of running a 5K, but I am personally a huge advocate of joining a group or team. It’s much easier to run with other people and most definitely a lot more fun. With most programs, the groups meet once during the week and once on the weekend for the longer run and then you will receive a schedule to follow for the other days. You can always “try” out the group before signing up, to make sure that you like it.

You will meet people that have a similar goal in mind, you will find people your same pace to run with, the leader will encourage you and help you through the process, and you will most likely come out with some new friends at the end.

For all of you non believers…..running can be fun. If you really want to run, then run. If that means walking first, then walk. You can do it, I truly believe in you!