A picture of perseverance and community

This past weekend in Hong Kong, 4000 enduring and determined souls entered The Oxfam Trailwalker. It is an event hosted by Oxfam, a worldwide charitable organization fighting poverty around the globe. The race is held in major cities across the world.
The race is on a 100 km trail that runs through the Kowloon side of Hong Kong. That is something that is pretty great about Hong Kong. Despite the cosmopolitan/concrete glare of the city, only minutes away you can find yourself on a gorgeous hiking trail. 4 people to a team complete the race, and each team has a support team to help them along the way. Each team raises money in support of Oxfam.
One of my friends from school asked me to be a part of his support team for one of the checkpoints. It was a really neat experience. I met a bunch of random people, stuck together for a few hours for the sake of cheering on the team and supplying whatever they needed for their journey! We drove ahead of them and prepared Gatorade, Mountain Dew, bananas, salt tablets, pasta, changes of clothes, vaseline for blisters, etc. They stopped in for about 10 minutes, and off they went. They finished the race in 26 hours, starting at 9am the first morning and crossing the finish line at 11am the next day! Incredible!!! The fastest team in the race finished with a time of 12 hours. They have a support team that actually runs the race alongside of them, and they run almost the entire time. I can't even imagine their level of fitness, and the intensity of their determination! One of the girls I met on the support team finished The Trailwalker last year, and it took them 41 hours. They walked through 2 nights. What an accomplishment!
I am thankful for the refreshed picture of perseverance that Drew and his team gave me this weekend! And, the great image brought to life of togetherness- coming alongside brothers and sisters to cheer them on, give them a boost, a shot of energy and encouragement to just keep on keepin' on.
Some of you are dear members of my support team! I need you. Thanks for lifting me up and pushing me along on the race.
Press on!