Four years ago on this very day, I ran my first half marathon. To say that day and the days to follow changed my life would be an understatement. As I reflect upon all the many things I am thankful for in my life, I want to take a moment to thank you – the running community. My life has always been filled with incredible blessings: an amazing family, wonderful friends, people I love, a good job and excellent health. And 4 years ago today, I became even more blessed to join an army of everyday people who have helped me become a better, stronger person through running.

I’m thankful for the deep friendships I’ve made with my training partners in the local Atlanta community (you all know who you are *smiles*). I’m thankful for the coaches and experienced marathoners who showed me the way when I was first starting out. I’m thankful to all the local training groups, running clubs and specialty running stores out there who are bringing people together from every walk of life to unite us through training. I’m thankful for all the virtual runners I’ve met on Twitter, Facebook and through the blogosphere who share support, inspiration, encouragement and tips. I’m thankful for all of you who read runladylike.com and have shared your stories and training journeys with me. I’m thankful to awesome companies like Brooks Running who support me as an athlete and give me experiences I would never have otherwise had. I am thankful to simply have the ability and health to wake up every day and have the choice to run.

With all that the running community gives to me and to us, we should also take the time to give back. As we celebrate Thanksgiving today, here are 5 ways we can all give back to the running community to say thank you to this special cult we call our own.

5 Ways to Give Back to the Running Community

Volunteer at a race. From a local 5K to a big city marathon, offer to volunteer at an upcoming race in your community. Races wouldn’t be possible without the millions of self-less volunteers who check us in at expos, set up the course, hand out water and put medals around our necks. Honor them and other runners by being a race-day volunteer yourself.

Run for charity. Dedicating your training and race for a half marathon, marathon or long distance triathlon is a great way to honor our sport while making a difference in the lives of others. I’ve run 2 marathons to raise money for the American Cancer Society, and the experience truly gave a profound meaning to my miles.

Be a mentor. If you’re an experienced runner with quite a few half marathons and marathons under your belt, offer to be a mentor for someone who is just starting out. Answer questions about training and race day, share tips that you’ve learned along your journey, check in with emails and phone calls to see how their training is going, join them for a long run, etc. I’ve learned the most about running from the awesome athletes who have come before me and taught me everything they know. Pay it forward.

Donate running shoes and clothes. Donate running shoes and clothes to help other runners in need. This could be dropping off gently used items at a local high school in need of apparel and footwear for their cross country team to donating your shoes to a recycling program to help others (see a few options here).

Start a social running club in your neighborhood. What better way to honor the running community than to help connect runners together and encourage new runners to join us. Work with your neighborhood association, workplace or other social clubs to start a casual group run. This could be a simple 3 to 6 mile run one day a month followed by coffee or dinner together or something more frequent to train together for an upcoming race.

Have you joined my Attitude of Gratitude Instagram Challenge yet? Join me by committing to do 13 things before the end of 2013 to show your gratitude in action. Find all the details here.

If you liked this post, you might also enjoy this one: Dear Running … Thank You.

What about the running community are you most thankful for? Have you ever done any of the above things to give back? What other ideas would you add to this list?