Boston Marathon 2012: Here I come

Monday December 12, 2011 officially begins my 18 weeks of training for the Boston Marathon. While I have been doing quite a bit of running, it adds a level of seriousness when the “official” training schedule begins. I am very excited to embark on such an incredible journey and hope to share it with you through this blog. I am training with the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team and it is my goal to raise $10,000 in honor of Josh Navez Mejia to support cancer research. It has been 20 years since I ran the Boston Marathon for the first time as a bandit. For those who do not know, a bandit is someone who runs Boston unofficially by lining up behind the official runners. 

The Boston Marathon is one of the few races that allow unofficial runners because of the history of “the bandits.” At the time, I was 19 and had decided to run it the year before after experiencing the magic of the marathon as a spectator. Many who have been to the marathon may know this magic I am talking about. It is watching the determination in the many runners as they endure the 26.2 miles. Some are elite runners and many are just like you and me-people that simply are up for the challenge and will work hard to get to the finish line. After voicing my desire to one day run that April day in 1991, I was told “Kerry you will never be able to run the marathon.” In fairness to the person that said this, at the time I was not in the greatest shape and probably had never run more than 5 miles. It was that marathon Monday in April of 1991 that I felt the magnetic invitation and call to do something after being confronted with the idea that someone said “Kerry you can’t.” This would prove to be a great motivational force throughout my life. The concept of “can’t” would be an invitation to prove that “I can.” In 1992 I completed my first Boston Marathon as bandit and raised money for a homeless shelter in Lowell. I then ran it two more times as a bandit while in college (1994 and 1995).

The marathon became one of the greatest defining metaphors for my life. The marathon is hard. There are really no short cuts. Quite honestly, some days it seems like an impossible feat. I have to work hard. I have to run when I don’t want to. I have to believe that I can even on the days when I don’t think I can. I have to run hills. I have to run when it is cold. I have to run when it is hot (I can only dream). I have to stay healthy. I will experience aches and pains. It is progress not perfection. Preparation is everything. Although even with great preparation, like many, I will hit the wall. So I need to not only train my body, I need to train my mind. During training I meet my best and worst self. I have days I feel great and days I feel defeat. I learn to cherish the days I feel great and I learn to call on inner strength on the days I experience defeat. Does this sound a lot like life? For me it does and I believe my experience with the marathon and with running makes me stronger in all that I do. So as I embark on a rigorous and intense training for Boston 2012, I wanted to share with you why I am running this year.

On April 16, 2010 my dear friend Matt lost his nephew Joshua Navez Mejia to Ewing’s Sarcoma. Josh was diagnosed at the age of ten and lost his brave battle two years later. This past April 2011 was the first time I had returned to marathon since I had run in 1995. As I stood on the hills in Newton near mile 20, I once again experienced the magic of the marathon. I watched many runners pass by with the same determination that I saw in 1991. The runners from Dana Farber really stood out to me. I found myself remembering how hard the marathon is-the training and then actually doing it. My mind then started thinking about my friend Matt and the personal marathon that little Josh faced as he bravely battled cancer for two years. I thought maybe I could run the marathon again. As soon as I started thinking this, I also started convincing myself that I could not do this. Once again, I was confronted by the invitation of can’t. If Josh could so bravely look cancer in the eye, why could I not run the Boston Marathon again? Then I realized that the following year the marathon would fall on Josh’s 2 year anniversary. In that moment, I knew I wanted to do it and to use my training as a way to honor such an amazing boy as well as the courage of his family.

So today, I run because I can. Although, perhaps it is not just that “I can” run but that I also choose to do what “I can”. This is something I am learning a lot about. It is not simply being able to do something; it is also recognizing and believing that you can do something and then committing to make it happen.  This year, I run because through running I experience all that is possible when we are willing to put one foot in front of the other and step by step, mile by mile, dollar by dollar work our way towards a goal. My goal is to finish the Boston Marathon on April 16, 2012 and to raise $10,000. In doing so I will be honoring Josh and his family and the many other families that are affected by cancer. I will also be helping to support Dana Farber reach the ultimate finish line- a world without cancer. I hope you will join me on my journey and do what you can. We must dream a world without cancer but first we must believe it is possible.Then we must do our part to make it happen. Thank you to all of you who have already made generous donations!