Most self-respecting self-help books and inspirational page-a-day calendars include Eleanor Roosevelt’s pithy saying, &uot;You must do the thing you think you cannot do.&uot; Well, I finally did it.

I’ve completed a half-marathon.

For the record, that’s 13.1 miles. And for the record, no, I did not run the whole way, but I ran more of it than I thought I would.

I chose Disney World’s marathon and half-marathon event for my first foray into the long-distance running world my whole family joined a long time ago.

My father and I ran the half, while my mom, sister, brother and sister-in-law completed the marathon. More than 11,000 people ran with them, while more than 6,000 people ran with my dad and me. As Stacy Graning pointed out, that’s about equivalent to most of the population of Natchez suddenly getting up, grabbing their Nikes and running across the bridge to Ferriday, La.

Wow.

If I never run another race, I’ll be impressed with myself.

But I have a feeling I will run another race.

I never knew what people meant when they talked about endorphins, the &uot;runner’s high.&uot; But now I know more than I ever thought I would. I am acquainted with Powerade, Power Bars and, unfortunately, portable restrooms.

I even know where my ilio-tibial band is. And how much it can hurt. And I have plans to erect a shrine to whoever invented ibuprofen.

So now I’m on a mission. Having successfully completed my half-marathon – and still soaring on my runner’s high – I want to get as many people involved in my new sport as possible.

The perfect opportunity will present itself on April 7. Natchez’s Junior Auxiliary, along with McDonald’s of Natchez, Kelly’s Kids and The Democrat, is sponsoring a 5K run in downtown Natchez to benefit the many children’s charities and activities JA supports.

And beginning Sunday, The Democrat will publish a training guide to give all those potential joggers out there the inspiration to hit the streets. Adapted from Runner’s World by race organizer Stephanie Daly, the training guide starts out slowly and builds up over 12 weeks to race day.

Believe me, anyone can do it.

During the six months I spent whining about the fact that I had even signed up for the half-marathon, several people asked me why I was going to do it. I didn’t have any answers, other than the standard, &uot;My family is crazy.&uot;

During the race, I came up with plenty of reasons why I was doing it. The thought of the chocolate donuts I was planning to devour later that day kept me going, along with the encouragement my dad’s presence gave me. And the night before the race, my sister-in-law Kathy clued me in to the most important reason people run: &uot;Your body can do this.&uot;

It’s simple enough to make sense. I had the breath in my lungs, the strength in my legs and the support of enough family members to get me across the finish line.

At the Orlando airport as I was preparing to leave, my parents began talking to a Vicksburg man who race-walked the marathon. My father leaned over to me and whispered, &uot;You’re in the fraternity now.&uot;

It’s not exclusive. Everyone has an open invitation to join.

Kerry Whipple is news editor of The Democrat. She can be reached at 445-3562 or by e-mail at kerry.whipple@ natchezdemocrat.com.