We Can Do Hard Things

“We can do hard things.” This statement can be found on the walls of each classroom at St. Charles Borromeo in Harlem, New York. Not only is it a great value to guide students towards believing, but it’s also beautifully emblematic of the entire ACE Teaching Fellows experience. From getting ready to become a teacher in less than two months, to balancing a job and classes, ACE teachers know full well what it means to do hard things. 

So, given all that I’ve been through in the past year, why not do one more hard thing?

That is exactly what Kate Chiappetta (ACE 31, Pensacola) and I thought as we entered the lottery for the New York City Marathon in February. If we did happen to get selected (which would be about a 2% chance) it would be a problem for later-us to deal with. By complete luck, we both were selected to run our first marathon in New York City on November 2. 

What had started out as a dream quickly became a reality, as we had to manage training for our first marathon with the normal trials and tribulations of teaching in an urban Catholic school. When I signed up, I certainly thought teaching would be easy during my second year. That would make training easier. In some ways it is, being able to manage student behaviors better and having more organized classroom routines and procedures. But for the most part, it’s been really challenging balancing both training and teaching. This is a whole new class of students, with different needs and experiences than my last class. Additionally, finding the time and energy to run after school is an everlasting challenge, especially with the extended school day at St. Charles or the humidity for Kate in Pensacola. What seemed like such a good idea in February became increasingly harder, with the training runs growing longer every Saturday. 

Still, Kate and I persisted, knowing that we can do hard things. We grew into routines that worked better for us, like morning runs or leaving grading for the weekends. We had to be flexible when our roommates had friends over or we had to prepare for site visits by the pastoral and academic advisors. Among other things, we had to remain meaningful members of an ACE household, despite another thing on our plate. 

By the time we got to the big day, Kate and I were glad to have another ACEr to go through the race day with. We also knew, as we hit miles 19 and 23, how rejuvenated we would feel as we saw some of the ACE New York community (Steve and Rachel, ACE 31) rooting us on with proud smiles and supportive cheers. And, rejuvenated we were. 

Moreover, what a surreal experience it was to stop and take a picture with two of my fourth graders as I entered Harlem in mile 22. That boost from seeing my students cheering me on gave me the energy I needed to push through.

I’m so blessed to have been able to cross that finish line in Central Park. Kate and I could not have done it with the support from our ACE communities, our families, or the running prayer we prayed together while in the start village. Since we are already ACE teachers, we didn’t need a marathon to prove it, but it certainly helps contribute to that belief that we can do hard things.