Dan rode in his first Livestrong Race in 2006. When we spoke about the event a few days later, he said, "There's a run. You should do it next year." I didn't give it much thought until about 6 months later when he called me, wanting to start a team, and said, "You need to be on my team this year. I can get you a discount!" So I did. I listened to Lance Armstrong speak before he rode 100 miles in under 2 hours, shuffled through the course, made 3 trips through the steam tent, and was there when Dan crossed the finish line in second place. And then I cried. We both made signs- mine said "Macstrong" and Dan's said "Never never quit."
Dan kept those signs for 7 years. We found them in his room after he passed away.
In early summer, my Aunt Wendy announced that she was going to participate in the Challenge and set up a team. Her husband (Uncle Joe), their three kids, and my parents signed up to walk the 5K course. Wendy registered for the 10K. Dan's friends set up another team for the walk. After much deliberation, I signed up for the 5K run as well. I started a Couch to 5K program about 2 weeks before the race, and I didn't have any ideas that I would do particularly well on race day. But it was very important that I run again this year, just as I had run while Dan was alive.
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| Adding his name to the Wall was an important part of Dan's race day ritual. We made sure it was there this year. |
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| Honoring friends & family. |
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| Prepping for the Race |
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| My special Dan sign. |
After listening to the peppy music for a few minutes, they sounded the horn to signal our start. Either because I was more prepared, or because of the large amount of baby strollers in the coral, I did not dash out at top speed like I had at the 2007 Challenge. I managed to make it much further than I expected to before I had to take a walking break. The volunteers at the water stand were very nice, and I thanked them for being there. Then I went around the corner and down the hill. That's when things got a little bit tougher.
When I was preparing for the race, I loaded up my iPod with some tunes that reminded me of Dan and some other Fibro fighters. I knew that I would be doing a mix of running and walking, so I made sure to add a mixture of slower and faster music onto my iPod, and I figured that I would alter my pace to the beat of the music. Wouldn't you know- none of the slower songs popped up for the duration of the event. At one point, I looked at the sky and told Dan to knock off the shenanigans. I can only imagine what the people around me thought. But they were happy when it started to rain a bit later! Things got a little rough when I thought that the second mile was stretching on and on. (Turns out that they did not put out the sign for Mile 2.)
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| Emotional finish |
The truth is that I felt Dan with me for the entire run. But it was when I was in the coral, listening to the music and getting high five'd by strangers, that I began to understand a little of why this event meant so much to him. No way to get around this- cancer is horrible. It is isolating. It cheats. But with the support of family and friends, or perfect strangers who know what you've gone through, your strength raises exponentially. By living strong, there is hope.
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| My Boston Maraton Finish |
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