List your SINGLE greatest achievement in life (so far).

Mine is getting all my college paid for with running. I chose to be #1 at a school and full ride over partials at major D1 schools. Best choice of my life. No loans.

I guess the significance is my background. First generation high school graduate (and college, of course), father in prison since I was 10 years old, mother has been an alcoholic my whole life, douchey step father, very small high school that couldn't field a whole team (#1 by 3 minutes with teachers as coaches), and more. (I was a 15:40s 5k runner in HS)

I also like the other stories on this thread about over coming their situations. It's rough and those who do it get a lot of respect from me.

I am like several others in that finishing college, getting married having kids were all expected....I even qualified and did Kona in 2012 at a 45 year old but qualifying for the US Women's Olympic Trials in 1996 and 2000 is what I am most proud of even though the time was easy 2:50 back then. I sure made the first 3 girls look fast as I was well behind them. Great experience.

kube wrote:

I am like several others in that finishing college, getting married having kids were all expected....I even qualified and did Kona in 2012 at a 45 year old but qualifying for the US Women's Olympic Trials in 1996 and 2000 is what I am most proud of even though the time was easy 2:50 back then. I sure made the first 3 girls look fast as I was well behind them. Great experience.

First, congrats on qualifying for 2 OTs. Pretty damn impressive.

Why was finishing college, getting married and having kids expected? Because people told you so, ie that was "your path" or because "society" has almost brainwashed us into believing these things are the path to happiness? :)

When I was 21 I got dumped by my girlfriend of 3 years, my mother got arrested (on false charges but all over the news), got 60k of student loans dumped on me, I got jumped by three thugs and beaten into a near coma and had to walk around my small campus with a huge stigma while still running on a partial scholarship. Felt like every time I got up a new wave would hit me to a new bottom I hadn't known before. Tons of stress and I developed a deep depression and I felt like I would never get out.

I never gave up, worked my way slowly back, paid off all my loans and have a great new girlfriend. Everything with my Mom cleared up although the papers never reported it. Also, 3 years after getting jumped I saw the main aggressor (knew who he was) out at a bar. I walked up to him asked him if he knew who I was, he said yeah, I punched him in the face and dropped him. He got his friends to try and jump me again outside but I wasn't alone. My friends kept it one on one and I kicked the living sh** out of him. Guess that's not as good as just getting over it, but I got catharsis I thought I'd never get. Now time to do more positive things with my life..

I once posted on letsrun, and someone complimented my post. It was AMAZING.

Ran a marathon on Pure Hate, then woke up from dream...

Prager wrote:

I am a quality human being... A man for others!

reminds me of this song:

Being baptized

Probably society and my parents on getting married and having kids. I even chose my degree based on my parents. I wanted to be a teacher like them and coach cross country....they pushed me into IT which I still do today. I do really enjoy my kids now that they are teens and have opinions. One is NEVER going to have kids based on what he sees us deal with and nag him to do which I support. You shouldn't have them if you don't want them.

I always wanted to graduate college like my parents did...plus it was a ton of fun going away...that is how I'm postioning college to my 3 kids....My parents even have masters degrees so I got one of those as well. Note to anyone out there don't wait 10 years to go back. I waited and they make you retake classes like stats...which I didn't enjoy the first time around...let alone the second time.

Thank you for answering. I am always just intrigued when people say things like "it was just expected."

Getting an $11 million verdict.

Masters Degree.

I used to have a heart condition and the doctors had to stop my heart for 30 seconds during a procedure to then restart me. Dad said it was pretty cool to watch the heart monitor flat line.

I used to have a heart condition and the doctors had to stop my heart for 30 seconds during a procedure to then restart me. Dad said it was pretty cool to watch the heart monitor flat line.

Well wrote:

I used to have a heart condition and the doctors had to stop my heart for 30 seconds during a procedure to then restart me. Dad said it was pretty cool to watch the heart monitor flat line.

That's a good one!

My wife and I had a very rough 18 months or so (about two years ago) and went to couple's counseling for a long time. We were both pretty confident that we were going to get a divorce. Somehow, we rebounded and now our marriage is stronger than it's ever been.

These are pretty insignificant compared to most people, and are actually pretty average at best. However, they make me happy and are allowing me to live the life I want to live so therefore they are some of my favorite achievements.

Running:

- NCAA All American

- Ran for a post collegiate training group

- Raced in USATF Championships in 4 of the last 5 years

School / Career:

- Graduated from an academically challenging university

- Learned skills beyond my degree (web design)

- Currently have a job that is demanding, yet rewards hard work, allows me to work remote when I want, respects my life/work balance, and is in a great location in the United States.

Life:

- More recently (as I'm in my late 20s), finding the balance between racing, my career, my relationship, and my hobbies.

- Not being afraid to move far from home in order to figure out which part of the country I like best.

- Being self-reliant regarding finances and support since I was around 20

- Found someone that I really love with the same goals, ideals, and beliefs on life. Someone I could see myself with for the rest of my life.

- Great friendships formed with a select few who are more family than friends.

Again, these are pretty insignificant achievements, but they all contribute to where I am right now in life and my overall happiness. This has been a fun thread to read and it's also very positive for the most part.

rojo wrote:

Great thread.

I love thoughts like this to start out the year. Let me think about it for a minute.

Ok, this is harder than I thought.

Killer student/went to Princeton? Nope, sign of white privilege.

2:23 marathon? That's worse than the women's WR.

Got married to an amazing woman? Nope, everyone gets married plus I dont have kids yet so it doesn't count.

Started LetsRun.com? Nope, result of having an alleged trust fund.

Can someone help me out?

Just remember, rojo, somebody wrote a whole book on the evil of that villain of villains, Mother Teresa (now St. Teresa of Calcutta), Abraham Lincoln was shot to death, and Jesus was crucified.

The son/sun:

Great post. Perhaps this shows what good environment and expectation can do for a person. Someone in a low socio economic setting and/or disabilities will not attain what you did.

A person must be able to add success upon success in order to achieve, much of that has to do with a positive mind set. God is good to those who have a big vision.

How did you develop your big vision?

I saved a child's life. He fell off a dock and never surfaced. I held on to the end of the dock with my feet, went underwater, and pulled him out. I was so pumped with adrenaline that I didn't just pull him up, I threw him on the dock like landing a fish!