We are just nine months away from the 2024 Yuengling Shamrock Marathon Weekend! While some Shamrock Stories reflect on the past, we are excited to be introducing a new feature from J&A Ambassador, Andrew Ware. Over the next nine months, Andrew will be sharing his own story of training and goal-setting, and he will also be sharing stories from other runner’s in the community. We hope you will follow along!

Running has always been about community for me. 

I found competitive running in the context of community, and I have grown and been encouraged as a runner through Community. 

My mom says, as a kid I was always running, I was always playing sports, and I was always doing “something.”

While I have been running mostly my entire life, my introduction to competitive running came in high school as I was competing in the athletics portion of my NJROTC unit at Salem High School in Virginia Beach. My proficiency in the Physical Training (PT) Test was the 1.5-mile run. This run was alongside situps pushups, and other strength and endurance tests that I have since forgotten. However, it was that run where I stood out. At NJROTC competitions, along with being on drill teams, I competed on our physical fitness team as well. Most notably in the 4×400 race (a race that uses absolutely none of my actual running skills). Yet as the endurance person in our unit, I would often bring us home in a respectable sub-60 sec effort (this is baffling knowing how fast it takes to be competitive in the high school track at the 400).

My fondness for running led my Captain to encourage me to join the cross country team, as the fall season was the only season I didn’t have a sport in my sophomore year (I did swimming in the winter and soccer in the spring). Therefore, in my sophomore year, I joined the cross-country team. I went from being one who shined athletically in ROTC to being a solid mid-packer on the cross-country team. I still remember my first practice: I had no concept of pacing and was told to run 3 miles. I just ran, ran until I was tired (about a mile and a half), hit the turnaround, and walk/jogged most of the way back. 

There was no question, I had a good base, but I needed refinement and training to solidify my abilities as a long-distance runner. Over the next three seasons of cross country, and after joining the outdoor track team for my junior and then indoor track my senior year as a 2-mile specialist, I began to refine and unpack my abilities.

None of my times from high school were all-state worthy, nor was I getting calls or letters about running in college. Actually, I got one offer to run at Ferrum and turned it down for a very generous pre-ministerial scholarship from Randolph-Macon College (yeah, I am a pastor…don’t hold it against me). However, the love of running was there, and even though my times were not the cream of the crop, I still focused more on the joy I got from the community and being active. I wanted to continue this expression of community as I moved on to the next phase of my life and went to college. 

Along with a handful of other folks at my school, I started a run club at Randolph-Macon College, gathering together for runs and traveling to races together, even hosting running events on campus (both miles and 5ks in my time in college). It was such a joy to be a part of that group and I attribute getting to the start and finish line of my first and only marathon (the 2008 Shamrock Marathon) to those folks. However, I acted like a fair-weather runner to an extent. Without the structure of a formal running team or coaching, I often slacked off, and when I blew out my knee the first time (intramural softball accident), I stopped running altogether while I rehabbed and even for some time afterward. I stayed connected to the run club and did activities with them, but my running routine was sorely lacking. The community was there even when the running was not, though. 

After college I went to Seminary (grad school for pastors) and when I got there my running practice fell off completely. I did not run a single race while I was in seminary, nor did I really log very many miles during my 3 years there. I did ride my bicycle around the city for community and sightseeing purposes. However, in my second year, I tore my ACL while riding back from class one day and had to have ACL reconstruction surgery. I remember telling my PT during rehab that I wanted to run again (maybe even another marathon), but it honestly felt like an empty dream. I sporadically ran after my recovery, but it never really stuck.

I graduated from grad school and got my first church appointment in 2014. I would often try to pick up running and started to motivate myself by signing up for races. It was not until 2015 that I would run another race. During this whole time, I knew I loved running, but could not find the energy or passion to follow through with it. It was only when I got back into running in 2019 that I realized that community was one of the things that drives my running. Yes, I can use it as a therapeutic measure (and I love that mind-clearing aspect of running), but I also love to join up with a group of people and run (pace doesn’t always matter). Once I reconnected with communities, even the runs I did by myself felt renewed in a different way. The encouragement I got from others bolstered my joy in the sport I love.

Communities can drive us to great and amazing things. I am not saying it is for everyone, but it is something that I have found has enhanced my joy of running. I love to meet people and hear their stories, hear what got them involved, and hear the role the community has played in their journey. 

This coming March 2024, 25,000 people will toe the starting line of either the 8k, Half Marathon, or Full Marathon—each person representing a story, a journey to get to where they are. In many cases, that person’s journey is not just about them. It involves so many people beyond themselves whether friends, family, coworkers, or run groups. The names of people who tangentially take part in this race are too numerous to count. Maybe that is why the course is always packed with spectators (could also be due to the general party atmosphere). 

I will be one of them. 

I am participating in the Half Marathon and I hope to do something I never thought possible at one time in my life (or really anytime in my life). I am hoping to run the half marathon in less than 1:30 (6:52/mi pace). Now this may seem far-fetched for the average runner (the average half marathon is around 1:50 (according to this site https://runninglevel.com/running-times/half-marathon-times). However, what isn’t uncommon is the journey it has taken me to get here.

I have always had a natural inclination towards long-distance running, but I haven’t always taken it seriously. As I look back on my journey I have not always been where I am. My only marathon (the 2008 Shamrock Marathon) was run at 4:58 (11:23/mi). In 2016 I ran a half marathon at 2:36 (11:53/mi). I have run 10k’s that have taken me longer than an hour and 5k’s over 30-35 mins. I know some people would even kill for those times. However, I highlight these times to point out growth. We can all move towards our own goals as we learn and grow as runners. We each have a story, and I love the role that the community can play in those stories.

As the days and training towards the 2024 Shamrock Weekend wind on, I hope to share my journey towards running (hopefully) under 1:30 and share some stories of other folks who are doing awesome things across the Hampton Roads running community. Join along, find a group, and set goals to achieve yourself as we all run together.