Race organizers and BRFs Lisa Kirker and Amy TenBrink.

Race organizers and BRFs Lisa Kirker and Amy TenBrink.

Mother runner Lisa Payne Kirker shares her most important mile, which took place a couple of years ago on a late-fall holiday in her small Michigan town.
The most important mile of my life was mile one of our first annual Marshville “Dam Pie” 5K race on Thursday, Nov. 24, 2011. A few weeks before, my neighbor and BRF Amy TenBrink and I decided to put together a small Thanksgiving morning turkey trot around our country block. We wanted to get in some girl time and burn a few calories before the chaos of the holiday began. We thought we might get 10 of our friends and neighbors to show up and run with us. We were wrong. That first year we had more than 60 participants; walkers, runners, and children riding bikes while their parents ran. Last year…82! (We live in a community of less than 500 people.)
I will always remember that first mile. I was on such a high already after watching all of these people line up in my driveway, on a cold Thanksgiving morning, to run around my block. As we ran as a group, I chatted with strangers, introducing myself and thanking them for coming, and laughed with my friends – shocked that our little run turned into something so big.

"There are so many miles in my life that rank up there, but I'd have to say that the first mile of the Thanksgiving morning race that I host each year with my BRF is by far the best."

“There are so many miles in my life that rank up there, but I’d have to say that the first mile of the Thanksgiving morning race that I host each year with my BRF is by far the best.”

For the past two years, the high from the those miles lasts all day. It seems like such an amazing gift for Amy and me. Not only do we get to run on a crisp, Michigan morning, but we get to run with almost 100 other people – sharing our love of running, as well as some healthy snacks and a few glasses of champagne afterwards. Truly, it’s one of my favorite days of the year, and my favorite miles of the year as well.
What was (or will be) the most important mile of your life? We want to know.
We’re going to make this an ongoing feature on the website (and potentially include some important miles in our yet-to-be-named third book, out in spring of 2015). Best way to submit is to email us your story with a picture: runmother {at} gmail {dot} com with “Most Important Mile” in the subject line. Please try to keep your mile stories under 300 words. Thank you!