How I found support in my journey through grief

Editor’s note: Runner and writer Emily Halnon’s new book, “To the Gorge: Running, Grief, and Resilience & 460 Miles on the Pacific Crest Trail,” was released on May 7. Running in my mother’s honor I decided to run the 460-mile section of the Pacific Crest Trail that crosses Oregon —and to try and do it faster than any human before me. When I bonked at mile 40 of my first 100-mile run, I told members of my crew, “I’m having a hard time right now,” and they didn’t flinch in the face of my struggle. Running gave me a place where I didn’t have to stuff anything away, where I could let my love for my mother and my grief over losing her far too soon unfold with the miles and take up as much space as the ground beneath my feet and the wide, open sky above.