So there I am, jack. Running alongside 29,999 of my closest friends at the Country Music Marathon and 1/2 Marathon this past Saturday in Nashville. Sure, you may not think of me as the type that keeps in shape, but I could show you a thing or two about pounding the pavement for a few miles.

Anyway, all around me I'm seeing the young and the old, the black and the white, the fat and the thin, the dudes and the dames. Different types all with the same theme ... effort. It's no picnic to run 26.2 miles, and even half that takes a full effort. But all these joes and jills were pushing it to the limit, wanting to make themselves better, see? It wasn't easy, but it didn't need to be. That's what made it worth it to finish.

It wasn't just the marathon, it was the months of marathon training leading up to it. It's not just getting out of debt, it's the way it changes you, and how you only have to do it once. Never give up, and always keep plugging away at your problem. Eventually, it goes down and you rise up. Fight the good fight. Finish the race. Keep the faith.