In For the Long Hall

Tomorrow marks forty-five years I've been running long distance. I ran when the medical field tried to stop me... they told me what was going to fail.. how I would die... how I would be undesirable to a man... how my knees would fail me by age thirty... my heart would fail me by age twenty-three... how I'd suffer great medical issues... My relatives, with the exception of my Mother told me running long distance would ruin my life... NO, it ruined their opinion... They lost. The medical field misdiagnosed me over thirty times... I had people criticize me even to this day for my running at odd hours, so I could work full time, yet be there for my husband and our daughters, still cook meals, work and clean our home, and care for our children. I gave up the frills of sleeping in, gladly. I gave up coffee clutches, gossip, hair appointments, fancy clothing, etc... In the end I saved us money... four years ago my husband remarked, "I'm so glad you invested in fitness and not make up, hair and nail appointments, You are my 'ivory girl'. If you can remember the old commercial... that is what he meant. I made certain as he was aging, he didn't think I noticed it. I had him race a fifty miler in celebration of his 50th birthday. It was great! Our daughters ages two and four, me with the double baby jogger and station wagon into tow, crewed him to the finish line. Being a long distance runner to me is about hope... inspiring others... gaining ground in gender equality... I have beaten men and women beating all outright in three races. Set a North American Record in my forties Yes, I'm entitled to stake my claim. 170,000 miles and counting ...through abduction/crime, fractures in legs, ribs, spine, arms, face...I've ran... Unrelenting 45 below and 130 degrees Fahrenheit... I didn't die even with birth defects. Yes, I have those. So tomorrow when my Maker grants me His good grace to arise, I'll set out to do so... because I think I can...and because I just never know the beauty I might encounter.---Jody-Lynn Reicher

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2023 Holiday Letter from the Reicher's

Well, I didn't think I'd be doing a Holiday Letter this year, but here goes... The Spirit of Norm is in the air. As the wind whips with minus a true snowstorm. In hopes the Farmers Almanac was correct, I pray to the snow gods. Rain ensued the month of December thus far. We have nearly tripled the amount of rainfall usual for December in New Jersey. And I've witnessed its treachery. Storms such as these hit us hardest in July. Then remained fairly intense through til about early October. Our daughters are doing well, Thank God. Their Dad would be proud of them. Our oldest Sarah, now a Junior at UCLA pursuing her degree in Chemical Engineering. She's digging the whole California scene. Which I thought it was for her. She's had some good traveling on her off times from school. For her March 2023 week off, she drove her and a few friends out to Lake Tahoe and went downhill skiing for a first in nearly 5 years. She had to rent the ski equipment. Funny enough when ...

"It’s the Hardest Thing..."

My friend since 1996, neighbor and pet care person texted back, "It's the hardest thing...". She texted back the morning just hours prior to my decision to have our last pet euthanized. It's not something I'd ever done. Although I've been told I have a killer instinct. Which I've discovered over the past 20 years that would be true. A promoter said that to my fight coach after my first cage fight. The promoter saw the charged smile on my face after I'd just lost to a decision. I am disciplined, so thank God for that. My feeling is we all have that, but not the amount I've discovered I have, and most certainly most do not have the obsessive level of discipline I have had or have. Fast forward to yesterday afternoon holding our bunny for quite sometime before her sedation in a veterinary treatment room. About 20 minutes later the vet and vet tech arrived finding a spot to inject a sedative into our pet bunny. They said it would take ten minutes, th...

June 12th 2025

Finally getting our oldest on the phone. "Mom! Chill! A man faceplanted on the ground. Blood was everywhere. It was so bloody Mom. We helped him." She continues her hyper mode annoyed I called/texted 6x in one hour when no response was received from them. You know that parenting Mom thingy. Oldest: "Didn't she tell you? We're doing pictures near sunset." She remarked, annoyed. Me/Mom: "Oh. Wow. Okay. And Thank you for being kind." That's what I was reduced to. Hours later... Youngest explains now in my hotel room. Me/Mom: "So, what happened?" Youngest: "Mom, I thought he was like praying. He was laying facedown." Me/Mom: "Oh. Did it just happen?" Youngest: "People were passing by. But we didn't see the faceplant. As I approached, I realized he wasn't praying... you know like some religions do at certain times." Me thinking... I guess that ten years in the morning of teaching the kids religi...

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