Camille Crazy

I guess I need to explain “50 by 50 in 50.”

While I was running The Great Human Race in Durham, NC an idea began to germinate. This was only my second race, I was definitely hooked on 5K races, but I have a short attention span. I knew that if I didn’t have some goals I’d soon abandon jogging for the next exciting sport or activity that grabbed my attention. I’ve been through swimming, tennis, golf, swing dancing, pole dancing, salsa dancing, cake decorating, drawing, monthly book clubs, month bunco parties and the list goes on.

What if I tried to run 50 races by the time I turned 50 – at that point roughly two and a half years away? Two races a month, that could happen. This had appeal, but it seemed a bit humdrum. Instead, what if I ran a race in each of the 50 United States? Now that sounded suitably “Camille Crazy.”
Like all my crazy ideas, I kept it to myself for a while. I needed to determine if I could actually stick to jogging for two and a half years as well as determine exactly how I’d pull this off. Finally I hesitantly told my idea to my friend Susan B. as we were taking our afternoon power walk. It was sort of like telling someone you love them for the first time, what if they don’t tell you they love you back? What if they laugh? Or worse, are silent? Deep down I must have known Susan was the right person to reveal this to. I got Sue’s classic response, “Fabulous!!”