Hey there.
So today we are sharing part two of our special series, the Hug.
So part one aired last Monday and it feels like we have all lived a month and a week.
We knew we were about to head into a week like never before in the US and pretty much all around the world, and we wanted to wrap it and you with one big, beautiful audio hug that kind of reminded us all that people are good, that they can be kind even to total strangers in ways we never imagined, and that underneath it all, we're all human and worthy of love and dignity.
So we created this two part series called the Hug.
The goal is to share a collection of heartwarming stories told by friends of the podcast that share a moment or experience where a little bit of kindness, a little bit of sweetness, maybe just a little bit of lightness touched down into their lives and reminded them how good people can be.
We were feeling like we all needed a little of that heading into last week and, well, we were kind of right.
Last week we aired part one of the hug with six gorgeous stories.
Today we are sharing part two.
Think of it as the other arm in our audio hug, wrapping us all in the arms of stories that remind us of our shared humanity at a time we need it most.
So sit back and enjoy these stories in part two of the hug.
I'm Jonathan Fields and this is good life project.
So our first storyteller is Toronto based storytelling coach, speaker, author and host of true stories told Live Toronto.
Marcia Shandor.
She believes that stories are the universal catalyst for connection and really brings us a story of a one person marathon that is so relevant to all of our experiences of life.
Here's Marcia.
It's five to nine on a Sunday morning, and I am standing outside the gates of Greenwich park in south east London, trying my hardest to look both sporty and like I really have my life together.
I had spent five sweaty months training to run the New York City marathon very, very slowly.
And 36 hours before the race, it got cancelled because of Hurricane Sandy, which was absolutely the right thing for them to do.
But now I was stuck because I had spent five months training, I wasn't going to not run a marathon.