Showing Up
“Community” can mean many things to many different people. “Community is a powerful source of life satisfaction and life expectancy” according to Dr. Vivek Murthy M.D. It’s one of my favorite definitions. In his work on community and connection as a two-term U.S. Surgeon General, he emphasized that strong communities, built on relationships and shared purpose, are essential for individual happiness, resilience and physical health. Social psychologist Adam Grant defines community thusly: “a community is a place where people bond around shared values, feel valued as human beings and have a voice in decisions that affect them.” I like that one because it well describes our foundational pillars of community, connection and whole human health. It also talks about the way we plan to move forward as we plan for the future of the Platte River Fitness Series beyond our upcoming silver anniversary.
I’ve been thinking a good deal about community because it seems that at every race, our athletes demonstrate what it means to be a part of the PRFS community. This isn’t just my point of view. The most common term used to describe the collection of people who gather together at PRFS race after PRFS race is “community.” In our most recent survey, you told us that it is the sense of community that you would miss most should the Platte River Fitness Series come to an end. Communities share a story and there are so many stories of community to share. Here are just a few examples to inspire you for the second half of the 2025 season.
The PRFS is a community in action. We show up with our feet. Every single race supports some worthy cause or organization. We might be trying to set a PR, earn some placing points, or add another medal to our collection, all worthy goals. But there is a higher motivation. When we race, charities and worthy organizations benefit, full stop. As just one example, the Tyler Vanderheiden Memorial Run raised well over $12,000 this year for the Nebraska Game and Parks Foundation.
What makes the PRFS community so special is how you show up, not just to race, but for each other and for the Platte River Fitness Series. Pay attention at any race and you will see it. You show up as a community when athletes like Linda Kramer finish the race and then almost immediately head back out to find those who might need some inspiration and support toward the end of their race. She doesn’t have to do that, but she does because that’s how she shows up for her community.
You show up as a community when athletes like Wayne Wallace take time from their training and their life to help so many race directors measure out and mark a course for their race. Many of our race directors are not runners and would have no idea how to plan a course…but Wayne does. That’s how he shows up for his community.
You show up as a community when our finish line team has volunteered for so long that nearly every single finisher is cheered on by name, and if the truth be told, often recorded by name rather than number. You are seen and you are known by Alyssa, Nelson, Gerry, Sharen, Wendy, Maddie and Maysen. In a community, you feel seen and known and the hard thing you are doing is witnessed by someone to whom it matters and your effort is celebrated.
You show up as a community by giving back with your dollars. Many of our athletes who are Ultimate Finishers or Honorable Mention Finishers, athletes who have fully earned the privilege of complimentary entries are still paying for some or all of their entry fees anyway. We have athletes who pay their entry fees AND provide more financial support as sponsors or on Giving Day so we can help races keep things as cost-effective as possible for everyone. This is how they show up for their community.
You show up as a community when you cheer, encourage and support another runner. We are perhaps the truest version of ourselves as we struggle with the effort needed to get to the finish line. Maybe it is an athlete new to road runs, maybe a competitor who starts to limp with pain or one who simply feels like they can’t continue…but they do because someone shows up for them, runs alongside them, believes that there is a greater cause at that moment than their finishing place or the points they might earn. They show up by never leaving anyone behind.
You show up in each other’s lives in moments that matter before someone’s race is done. You show up like Bob Veal, who takes the time on a race day to pick up a family member from a hotel for an athlete still running. You show up in a really big way when someone from our community finishes the biggest race of all. You show up by filling churches and chapels when one of our own is gone. That is a deep kind of showing up.
You show up when the obstacles that can come in a race become too great to bear alone. Two of the best examples of showing up for our community come from the same pair of athletes. Sometimes the final finishers, Kisha Arnold and Sharon Sewald show up for each other. They are “in it” together. It is impossible to quantify the strength of the bonds, the connection between two people when they share the race experience side by side. They are also willing to sacrifice a finishing place for others. When an athlete experienced a medical issue in a race, they called for help and made sure this athlete was cared for and loved before moving on, finishing the race for sure, but generously adding many minutes to their time to provide this care. Perhaps the most touching example to me is how one of them showed up for the other in this year’s Heroes March. Struggling with the full weight of 35 pounds, Kisha asked Sharon if she would mind if she abandoned her pack to send with the course guards. Sharon, in response, who was also at that moment of pain and hardship in a challenging race, simply said “I will carry it for you.” That offer, from the very best part of a human being, gave Kisha the will and strength she needed to finish with the weight she needed to carry. “I will carry it for you.” That is what it means to be in service to a community.
These are the stories that can carry all of us. I “grew up” in my running life watching this kind of example with Wayne Wallace and Chris Jarvis. Even when the winning trophy might be on the line, when one struggled, the other never left the other one’s side. That is what real “showing up” looks like. There is a beautiful Irish proverb that reflects this value, “You are the place I stand on the day when my feet are sore.” We help each other stand of solid ground when we are in pain, injured, disappointed, exhausted, and oh, so very human. I want to thank this community for the countless ways you show up and for the community you made. Our season is about halfway over. My hope for the remainder of 2025 is that you pay close attention to the ordinary, extraordinary ways you make a difference to this community by “showing up.”