Originally written in 2021
I did the “dreaded” 5 km trail race today and somehow came home with a bronze medal. 
Not too bad for a starter.
I had only started running about two months earlier, and I was quickly discovering that trail running was a completely different creature.
There were hills to run up.
Hills to run down.
Exposed tree roots waiting to trip you.
Slippery tracks because of the rain.
And, because this is Far North Queensland, apparently I was also supposed to keep an eye out for snakes. 
As though simply staying upright wasn’t enough.
Then another participant and I managed to get lost.
We wasted about ten minutes heading in the wrong direction…
and another seven minutes trying to find our way back to the actual race course.
So perhaps navigation also belongs on my list of things to practise.
I know that for some people a 5 km trail race and a bronze medal might not seem like much.
But for me, this was something.
Only six weeks earlier I had injured my heel and couldn’t run or train for two weeks.
I was also supposed to undergo a diagnostic procedure that would have required another week of rest.
I fasted for more than 24 hours, waited at the hospital for six hours — hungry and dehydrated — and then learned that my procedure had to be postponed because somebody else needed emergency surgery.
Of course, that person needed the operating theatre more than I did.
My procedure was rescheduled.
And unexpectedly, that meant I was able to be here.
Running through the mud.
Dodging roots.
Looking out for snakes.
Getting lost.
Finding the course again.
And somehow finishing with a bronze medal around my neck.
So yes, for somebody else this might just be a 5 km race.
For me?
I’d say this is a little miracle.
Stories Along the Way 