INDIANAPOLIS — Running the One America Mini-Marathon this Saturday is a huge goal, taking a high level of training and dedication.
The Mini is more than a check mark on a bucket list for Lucy Dobbs, and it’s driving her for what's next.
"I can go out, I can run, I don't have to think,” Dobbs said. “It's just a kind of therapy for me, I guess.”
Running is a passion Dobbs picked up from her dad.
“He was the one that got me started into running. He ran when I was really little,” Dobbs said. “I remember him leaving to go run the Mini and me just asking him about it. But then, he kind of petered-off in his running, and I picked it up."
Running the race multiple times like her dad, the Mini, in particular, is special for Dobbs.
"It's amazing to compare the Mini to just another half marathon,” Dobbs said. “You don't realize how excited you're going to be the morning of, and everybody is ready to go. You get off the line and you're not paying attention, running two or three minutes faster than you should be."
Her dad is guiding and cheering her on in spirit.
“He passed away before I ran my first Mini, but I still have the picture of him crossing the finish line I think in 2001 that I keep behind my desk, so it's always there for me,” Dobbs said.
Her dad’s love of running that Dobbs inherited is pushing her toward a bigger goal: the Olympic Marathon trials.
"Last summer, I was talking with my coach, and we were kind of like I've run one marathon, we didn't try to go all out, really see what we were capable of, and at that point, it was just kind of like, ‘let’s draw that line, let’s see what we can do,'" Dobbs said. "It is on the edge of my capabilities right now. The last year has been spent building up the mileage, practice running at that pace, giving it a couple shots because I have to qualify by the end of the year to go to the trial… It’s kind of scary but I guess that's the point of a goal is to have something big to reach for."