The Long Dirt Road: 2015 Phone Home - Linda's Run Virtual 5k

August 26, 2015 ~ Walking with this awesome group of ladies makes evenings so much easier to do! (Of course we are missing several ladies in this picture) I feel like they are my accountability team because just when you don't really feel like walking you get a group text asking who is going to walk tonight... kind of hard to say no when they are willing to get out there and get it done!

Phone Home 5K – Linda’s Run

Join us on our first E.T. themed virtual race: PHONE HOME 5K! We are running in honor of Linda Hodges (read her story below) and part of the proceeds from this race will be donated to help Linda and her family make her HOME wheel-chair accessible, while another portion will be donated to the American Diabetes Associates (ADA).

Tonight we would be walking for Linda.....
(and earning this awesome medal)

Linda’s story:

Shoot for Mars. Even if you miss, You’ll land among the Stars

This is not the original quote but I changed it to fit my year. I’m excited that this race is in my honor as E.T. was the first movie I ever saw in a theater!

I’m Linda Hodges from Arkansas, a mid 40 something: wife of Jason, mother of 4, Mamaw of 5, Registered Nurse, a horrible Diabetic and a Moon Jogger! (oh and my cousin is Carolyn Guhman who introduced me to y’all) I proudly went on the maiden voyage to the moon and have been in LOVE with Moon Joggers ever since. I adore your stories, I celebrate your joys, I pray for your burdens- basically I live thru your eyes as my health keeps me from running.

I ran as a kid, tried out for track in Junior High and made the team (but I was too cool to race back then or so I thought). I had just regained my love for jogging on a treadmill when I dropped 60 lbs in a matter of 8 weeks. It was that symptom that lead to the diagnosis of diabetes. I’m actually considered a Type 2 diabetic with Type 1 tendencies. In layman terms: my body at times does not produce the insulin it needs and even when it does my body has a ton of problems absorbing it. I lost at the genetics BINGO, my grandparents, my parents, my only brother, and several aunts and uncles ALL diabetics.

Due to diabetes I’ve suffered 2 Strokes (2011 &2013), have multiple heart issues now, but the worse is I’m losing my ability to walk because I can’t feel my feet and lower legs. I do walk. My tag line is “I wiggle when I walk.” I ambulate with a cane or walker, however there are more and more days that I must use an electric wheel chair. I continue to get miles; it may take me all week to get one mile or good days I may get 3. My husband and I are quite crafty; I can walk pretty well with a jogging stroller with a cinder block baby, its name is George. I may have diabetes but I refuse to let it steal my joy. This is my story…my personal walk in life.

Jaxon joined us for this walk and he did good about 1/2 mile in before Aunt Shell had to give him a lift! (I'm pretty sure Jaxon should have given me a lift!)