Thursday, April 4, 2013

Beating Cancer to the Finish Line




Check out this AWESOME article on the website for Dallas Rock & Roll half marathon...then read below to see how we got there...Thanks for all the love & support!

March 24, 2013 marked the 4th annual Dallas Rock & Roll Half Marathon event...it was my 3rd time to run this half in Dallas and it has always been an INCREDIBLE race for me!  It was my PR course for over a year...my Garmin always locks up at the start (did again this year) and it is ALWAYS run with my closest running friends including a large group of TNT supporters. Last year Jessica coached the team and we ran in honor of Grayson and Noah.

This year was no exception...and proved to be even more special.  First I was asked to speak at the Inspiration Dinner on Saturday night for the North Texas TNT marathon teams.  This entails giving the mission moment which means sharing my story about Allie's diagnosis and our journey and involvement with TNT.

Allie & I -- NTX RnR 2013 Inspiration Dinner

Second, Competitor Group who runs & manages the Rock & Roll events is a supporter of Team in Training and asked if they could have a TNT alumni interviewed at the start line -- North Texas chapter asked Allie & I...what an honor! It was a COLD morning but we were surrounded by our TNT family -- thank you first to Will (my husband) for driving us down and dropping us at the start so we didn't have to wait around too long in the cold bitter wind...and then MUCH LOVE to Robin, Ken, Chad, Christina, Jessica, Tony, Coach Stephanie, Coach Joy & Kendall for hanging out at the stage and supporting us! GO TEAM!



This race was the first one back for Robin...who if you recall is my friend who I trained and ran MCM, Dallas and Chicago full marathons with.  She had to step away while she had her first baby (and boy is he a handsome little guy)...it was also her husband, Ken's first half - so we stayed together and Chad - a fellow TNT friend and lymphoma survivor ran with us too.  I have to say it was a great time...in the end Chad got the PR he has been training for and I was so happy & proud of him.  Robin had a PR and of course Ken had a PR : )



I can't forget to mention that Kalee, Grayson's mom, ran the event alongside Jessica & Tayla (two TNT alums) they were a couple minutes ahead of us and Kalee crushed her previous two half marathon times - third times the charm, right?!  For the past 6+ months we've been running or spinning together in the mornings...up at 4:30am three-four times per week and Grayson is still in treatment for leukemia - its maintenance phase so a lot of it is at home but still it is CHEMO  and she has three other kiddos to take care of and works full time.  I don't know how she and Lance do it sometimes or any other parents with children battling cancer.  So I'm officially giving Kalee the SUPERMOM AWARD! Looks alot like the GForce logo : )  Here's to one day Grayson & Kalee being featured in an article crossing a finish line together...like Allie and I!



In the end....I know the reason why I run isn't about time and PR's -- it is always about finding a CURE (by the way a PR is personal record -- best time).  There are races I run specifically for the CAUSE and races that sometimes I run for myself...to see improvement or to challenge myself.  Sometimes I need that...but I can tell you that 99% of the time my best times come on those races where there is a personal connection - a personal drive PUSHING ME TO THAT FINISH LINE!






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