No Turning Back: How C2C's Runner Jonathan Eustache Stays Motivated

No Turning Back: How C2C's Runner Jonathan Eustache Stays Motivated

by 

Lindsay Muscato

In this series, we’re writing about Haitian-American Jonathan Eustache, who’s running to raise $13,624 for C2C in the ING New York City Marathon in November.

Jonathan Eustache can't stop running. Not now, anyway. Since he volunteered to run for C2C's work in Haiti, he says the urgency of the project and the hard work of the rest of the C2C team keep him going. Waking early. Tending to injuries. Making time for long training runs. His training is more difficult than some runners' because of the herniated discs in his back.

The herniated discs were, in some ways, motivational at first. Jonathan says, "My doctor told me to either lose weight or have surgery. But I didn't know how I was going to start losing weight. So I started running. That's when I noticed, okay, I can do this."

But it still isn't easy. Jonathan says: "I still have herniated disks. It's a little better but not fully healed. So I still have to stretch on a daily basis, before I go to sleep and after I wake up. I've done physical therapy. Everything in the book, I've tried. I've tried acupuncture, numerous injections. It's very frustrating sometimes."

Jonathan says that during those times of frustration, C2C keeps him going "As a matter of fact this morning, I didn't even want to go. But I have to. If I don't, then -- you know -- all the work I've done would be for naught."

--

Learn more:

Running is often a mental challenge as much as a physical one. Here are a few links to keep runners hitting the pavement:

MapMyRun: Track your routes and announce via social networks how many miles you've logged (or failed to log). Self-induced peer pressure.

Zombies, Run!: Immerse yourself in a post-apocalyptic world that's teeming with the undead. Run fast enough and you save both your health and humanity.

Spotify Playlist of Running Music: Runner's World presents its 2012 playlist of best music for running. Warning: songs may also induce dancing.

--

How you can help: Don’t miss C2C's next Run04Haiti Fête Deux on September 26. Help us reach our fundraising goal to support Jonathan's run and bring clean water to an entire village.