New wheels.

People are amazing. Well OK, not everyone and not all the time, but when conditions are perfect and inspiration strikes, people can be really incredible.

My committed runner Cristal, who is quickly becoming the star of this blog, has been running with a stroller that is... well, let's just say it's not a running stroller. Cristal had no problem running with this stroller, but I knew from experience that she was having to put out a lot of extra energy to run with it, energy that a true running stroller would help her to conserve. Let's face it: running while pushing a stroller is tough enough, so why make it harder than it has to be? But it definitely speaks to Cristal's determination that she was going to be a runner no matter what.

After we started running together last week, I told her that I would stay on the lookout for a decent double running stroller, one that both her girls could fit into. She told me her budget and I started browsing through ads on Craigslist and Used Victoria. There are always plenty of running strollers for sale, but the trick is to weed through and find the real bargains. Some of the less-expensive strollers are pretty beat up and the ones in good condition can be quite expensive. One thing's for sure: strollers can have incredible re-sale value.

It didn't take long before I found a used double Chariot that was only a few years old and was selling for a great price. I told Cristal about it, but I knew that she couldn't afford to buy it right away. And that's when I decided to take action. The sellers would find multiple people willing to buy the stroller in the time it would take for Cristal to be able to buy it and I just couldn't see the point in letting this great opportunity get away. My mind was made up: I would buy the stroller and Cristal could pay me back when she was able. And I would buy it first and tell her later so that she didn't feel obligated to try to talk me out of it.

I went out for a great run with some friends on Saturday morning and got chatting to them about the stroller. I was just busting with excitement about it! I guess my enthusiasm was contagious, since one of the lovely ladies I was running with sent me an email later that day with a money transfer equalling a third of the stroller's purchase price. I was (and am) just so touched by her generosity, but I can't say that I'm at all surprised; it is simply in her nature to be so wonderful.

Well, the phone call to Cristal later that day was one of the best phone calls of my life. I was still high from all the fantastic things that had happened that day (the stroller, the run, the donation) and when Cristal thanked me, I could hear the tears of gratitude in her voice. It made everything worth it and just reminded me that giving is just as sweet, or sweeter, than receiving. 

Today's run was another awesome run for Running Moms. We ran down into James Bay and back along the Dallas Road pathways and Cook Street Village. It was raining pretty hard at times, but the temperature was mild and there wasn't a breath of wind. Indeed, the rain was falling straight down, a sight not often seen in Victoria. 

We ran intervals of seven minutes running, one minute walking (but started out with a ten or twelve minute warm-up, since I forgot to start my watch!). Our total run time was between thirty-eight and forty minutes. Check out our run map here.

I know that with this stroller, Cristal will have no problem achieving her goals: training for and running the TC 10K (May 1st) and the Victoria Half-Marathon (October 9th). And I'll be there to cheer her on, every step of the way.