“Thirteen years ago, Melissa Granum convinced me to do a half marathon with her. It was the first for both of us. We trained together, doing our long runs on the weekend, oftentimes using the Watershed trails. In our training we never got past the 16km mark. Melissa assured me that we would be ok, and that our training would take us across the finish line. On race day, we were both nervous. When we were running, Melissa was taking care of her hydration and nutrition. I felt fine and thought I didn’t need to... until we got to that 16km mark. I did what all runners dread - I bonked. I had no reserves, nothing in my tank. Melissa was running strong, so I told her to keep going, that I would just walk the rest. Melissa wouldn’t leave my side. She could see I was struggling and my well-being was more important to her than any race. She kept encouraging me and we ran slower than some were walking, but she would not let me stop nor would she run ahead to get a good race time. Melissa said to me, “We started this together, we are going to finish it together.” She did not stick by my side for the bragging rights or the glory, she did it because she cares about people. It was a quiet gesture, yet an incredibly powerful one. This is her character.That moment at the 16 km mark said everything about Melissa. She doesn’t just care, she shows it, time and again. When things get tough, she’s willing to do the heavy lifting to help others reach the finish line.”
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