Wow! The long run...

Have you ever had your breath taken away? Not by getting hit or scared, but by the pure shock of seeing something?
It happened to me at our pre-run talk this Saturday. Kelan came to see us.
You see, I ran my first marathon in 1999 with Team in Training (TNT). My hero patient at that time was a little boy around 8 or 9 years old who had been diagnosed with leukemia about a year prior. The day before my first marathon all the Seattle & Tacoma Team in Training members gathered around the pool for pictures. Kelan climbed up on a chair & read a poem he had read about our running for him & him not being sick any more. He had us all in tears.

Fast forward through years of not running, getting a postcard from LLS to join Team in Training (again) & my signing up for another event with the Leukemia-Lymphoma Society. Early November 2009 we were in Gig Harbor for a training run & as I am running with my new coaches we are talking about how long they have been working with TNT. I am thinking they may know something about Kelan & where he is (or isn't). I was so nervous to even ask it out loud, but I did. And they said they knew Kelan & that in 2007 he ran the Honolulu marathon with both his mom & dad to celebrate his 5 years of being cancer free. What a relief to hear! I could let that go.

But then here we are this past Saturday huddling up for our mission moment before our longest training run before our event. And up walks Kelan. I see him & start to get choked up just at the sight of him. He has no idea who I am, but that does not matter. What matters is that he is a survivor. He is a high school senior who has swam at state level competitions. He is tall. And he is as blonde as he was at 8 years old. He speaks to those around him with confidence & passion. He & his family are still very much involved with TNT & LLS & other families with kids going through what he once did.

No, I am not solely responsible for his still being around. But I am one of many who has trained & fundraised for him & others wearing similar shoes. No, not all the stories end happily. But this one does! And I cannot tell you the feeling that wells up inside when I think of it.

The run was long & sometimes a true pain (in the knee or foot). But I did my 12 miles in 2 1/2 hours. About what I expected with my walking some of the hills that I don't get along with. The biggest blessing was that it stayed dry! I was so happy to be running 12 miles & not be soaking wet :)

I still have some funds to raise. Some days that is really frustrating. Some days I know it will be okay & something will come together. So yes, this is where I plug it & tell you that if you have not donated I would be ever so happy if you went to http://pages.teamintraining.org/wa/vancouvr09/hburke & made a contribution. 75 cents of every dollar raised goes to this cause. There are numerous researchers in the Seattle area that are funded directly by what money is being raised by my team-mates & I.

As always, thank you for reading.
~heidi