"Run to Remember" at Des Moines Marathon

One reason my blog writing has been non-existent: I've been in training for the IMT Des Moines Marathon. Not the entire 26.2 miles. Just to do four miles as a member of a "Run to Remember" relay team on October 16. We raised money for HCI Care Services (formerly Hospice of Central Iowa) and the work done around the country by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization. Central Iowa "Run to Remember" participants have generated more than $4,000 to date during the 2011 Des Moines Marathon (still accepting funds through November 15). 

Since gentle yoga is my idea of exercise, training has been a stretch and an adventure. But as I wrote on my fund-raising page, "running may never be anything I'm passionate about, but for the patients of HCI Care Services, I'm delighted to be doing it." The back of my team shirt showed that I was running in memory of the "Patients at Kavanagh House" (one of HCI's residential hospices, where I volunteer and where my mother died in 1998).

My four teammates—Debbie Kissinger, Terry Terrones, Ellie Du Pre and Donna Boots (all HCI staff or donors)—took pity on me as the non-runner and the oldest. They gave me the shortest and opening leg. I'd never been in a race before, and between my excitement and the upper respiratory ailment I was battling, I slept three hours the night before. 

Sunday a.m. arrived and there I stood, relatively clueless, with 5,500 people and holding our precious cargo: a tube containing the names of everyone our donors had asked us to remember as we traveled the miles. We exchanged it like a relay baton throughout the marathon.

So how was my start? Well, the Kenyan and Ethiopian runners had already completed a mile before I made it from the back of the pack to the actual starting line. In fact, when James Kirwa, the winning marathoner, crossed the finish line at 2:12:54, I probably was still coughing, blowing my nose and trying to catch my breath.  

To my awesome teammates—who brought us in at 4:51:57—I salute you and I love you ladies for letting a real amateur have a shot at saying, "When I ran in the Des Moines Marathon..." The photo below—when we met near the 26 mile mark to travel to the finish line—will link us together forever. To my many generous friends and family who helped me surpass my $2,000 fund-raising goal, I'm forever grateful for your support and your "you go, girl!" messages. And to HCI Care Services, thanks for all you do. It was a privilege to "Run to Remember" what your passionate and loving care means to patients and their families. 

 L to R: me, Terry, Donna, Debbie and Ellie

Comments

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Cheers to all the participants of this amazing event! It always warms my heart to see people participate for a cause.