This photo was taken a few minutes before I landed from my Iceland adventures back in August of 2010. These are four of my dearest friends welcoming me back home from having completed my first ever International Marathon in Reykjavik. It was one of those rockstar moments where I felt incredibly lucky to have these amazing individuals in my life. For my friends, it was their number one priority to celebrate my recent victory and be the first ones to congratulate me!

Jasmine, Faudie, Phil, Claire

This afternoon, I sent a text to Amy (who I met in Iceland), thanking her for her recent donation to my 100km ultra marathon against Kids Cancer in October. This was her response and the inspiration behind today’s post.

It’s the absolute truth! Imagine I had not challenged myself to sign up to run in Iceland?! When I was making the decision it was a daunting choice: sign up to run a marathon in a foreign place, 16 weeks of intensive training, commit to raise a minimum of $6000 for Team Diabetes and do it all alone? (What I was going to discover, is that it would be the complete opposite and being alone would be the farthest thing I would have to worry about)

Nonetheless, despite these concerns I chose to push myself and step outside my comfort zone.

Starting Line and video of my Iceland Experience

Today, I could not imagine a life without having experienced this beautiful and breathtaking island in the middle of the North Atlantic and Arctic Ocean.

Running Iceland has created a “ripple effect” of priceless fortunes and opportunities: the introduction of life long friends, motivation to create some amazing BHAG‘s, become a fitness instructor, and join the lemon family are a few examples. I consider these things the norm for myself today and these accomplishments are all because of the Iceland decision.

Being a runner and a big advocate for fitness is definitely an added bonus of having stepped outside my comfort zone. However, what I value and I am most grateful are the the connections that continue to thrive forward and flourish into unforgettable memories.

The energy, support, motivation, and encouragement that I share with my connections is the best part of the ripple. It can only get better from here! In fact, I’m confident that I will be needing a surf board in my near future.

The Great Geysir