"It’s been a long, tough road, but as someone who has struggled for most of my life with a serious illness, my biggest thrill is that, today,  I’m able to accomplish many of my goals.

Through nutrition, exercise and the right mix of doctors, I am proud to say I’ve worked hard to manage my disease."

- Lisa E.
Via Let's Move Quad City

"I run because I can. Because when I do, there's always the chance to be extraordinary. A chance to start unknown and to finish unforgettable. A chance to overcome all obstacles, to fight through pain and suffering to test your emotional limits and boundaries, to experiment with the potential of the human body and discover just how far you can push yourself. And a chance to feel like a completely different person, a person who inspires others, and who they strive to be."

- Lauren W.

“I had lost my connection, literally, to the earth...Now, the earth sent me this surge of energy, like lightning. It felt like it was saying, ‘Where have you been for the last 10 years? Welcome home.’”

- Dan N.
Speaking to Yoga Journal about his second yoga experience when he removed his prosthetics.

"I feel kind to my body neither under or overworking it and I’m not hating the workouts themselves wishing them to be over quickly. Instead they calm me down and are good for me mentally as well. I feel like my life can be very stressful sometimes so I need my workouts not to be draining me or put any more stress on my mind or  body. Instead, I want them to be calming and strengthening and giving me energy. This is just what works for me not putting any pressure on me to reach fitness goals or get any type of results other than feeling good and taking care of myself.”

- Jenny M.

"​My love of swimming is as emotional as it is intellectual. My father, who was a great swimmer, taught me to swim when I was very young. We swam together in every conceivable body of water for years, so swimming is inextricably bound to my relationship with my father, who was an engineer and a deeply curious person."

- Richard F.

“I can spend 2 hours weeding this [see above!] and no sore back for me!”

- anonymous

"The bullying, unfortunately, at school led to me having a nervous breakdown when I was 18 and, unfortunately, I tried to take my own life. I, like many kids who are being bullied, didn't talk about it. It took me a long time to deal with it and I have dealt with it now. Running has been one of those things that has allowed me to express myself in ways that I never would have been able to express myself before. It gives me that sense of freedom. For me, it gives me that opportunity to have my own views and my own objectives in life."

- Ben S.

"When I am dancing, I just know that that is where I want to be and that’s who I am.

Whole.”

- Khorii T.
Jacksonville, NC