The passage of time always seems to take me by surprise. I
am not sure if that is because we often neglect the power of pause and
breathing space or because we simply pack so much into our days that our days
quickly merge into weeks, months and years leaving us with the recurring question,
“where does the time go?” Well, I am going to accept that it is probably a
little bit of both. Stopping to write up a weekly blog is creating a space for
pause and reflection, yet the passage of time still surprises me. As I write
this week’s post, we are now just 13 weeks away from the marathon. This is both
exciting and overwhelming. I am finding my groove and have accepted the many
challenges that exist in front of me. We
have a ways to go with the training and many miles to log and a long way to go
with the fundraising, one dollar and donation at a time.
Fundraising Update
This year I have been a bit slower with the fundraising. With
the generosity of many friends, family and colleagues, we have raised $5,346.20
which is about halfway to my conservative goal of $10,000. This is quite a bit
behind last year, however I have not sent out as many reminders because I am
hopeful that many of you who contributed last year will once again step up and
support such an important effort-working towards a world without cancer. We
certainly do not need to look far for the reminder of just how important this
effort is. I am sure most of us know someone if not many who have been impacted
by cancer and if you haven’t, unfortunately you probably will. Fighting cancer
is all of our responsibility. So, I thank those who have already supported this
critical effort. You are part of our extended Marathon Challenge Team! For those
who have not yet made a contribution, please consider joining us in this
important effort. Every donation brings us a step closer. Individually we are strong;
collectively we are a powerful force.
The Collective Power
of Team
Training to run a marathon is hard. Raising $10,000 or more
is also hard. Finding a cure for cancer is hard. Perhaps it is suppose to be. Hard
is not something that discourages me. In fact, the challenge is a call to
action. I am also a firm believer that “many hands (or shall I say feet) makes
light (or lighter) work.” This is something that really resonated with me this
week. As I mentioned in last weeks post, I have really been struggling with my
breathing. It started with Bronchitis in early December and has continued. This
week I began a second round of antibiotics and was feeling much better.
However, the weekly runs were still tough.
Our Team Run was in Lexington
this week and the mileage was 10-12 miles. There is something magical that
happens on Team Runs. For me, it is the reminder that I am not one person
training for a marathon; I am a member of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge
Team. I find myself in a room full of people who are all driven by a shared
sense of purpose- a world without cancer. Everyone in the room has joined the
team because cancer has impacted their life in some way. Some of our teammates
are cancer survivors. Some have lost parents, sisters, brothers, children and
friends. Some of us are running and some of us are volunteering. All of us are
doing what we can to support Dana Farber’s ultimate goal- a world without
cancer. I think I mentioned last week
that we begin our runs by coming together as a team to hear the “Barr Impact”
Statements. This reminds us all of the research that is being done and the
reason we are hitting the pavement and logging so many miles. This week we were
all crowded into the basement of Boston’s
Running Company Store in Lexington.
As we were standing and listing to team announcements, a woman came up to me.
She was a volunteer for the day. She stood beside me and whispered, “thank you
for running! I am going to try not to cry. I had cancer this summer and really
appreciate what you are doing.” How is that for perspective? It was all I
needed to fuel my run yesterday. As I listened to the gratitude of this woman
and stood in a crowded room of runners who were ready to hit the road, I was so
honored to be part of such an important effort.
As we left the store and began our run on the Lexington Bike
Path, I was reminded of how much I have grown to love running with a group.
This was a major change for me because I was always a solo runner. Our group
this week included some veteran runners and also a number of first time
marathoners. How exciting. I think one of my favorite things about running in a
group is the collective sounds of our feet hitting the ground. It is a reminder
that we are not doing this alone. I have learned that even on days when I am
not sure I am going to be able to go the distance that it becomes possible when
I am with my teammates. We talk about why we are running. We talk about our
goals. We challenge each other to think about how realistic the goals are. One
of my favorite reminders this week came from a teammate who has run many marathons.
As we were sharing some of our goals, he reminded us that above and beyond all
goals, we must remember the number one goal is to get to the starting line as
healthy as possible. This is true for life too. Sometimes in pursuit of a goal
we forget the most important is to take care of ourselves as we work towards
our goals.
In the end this week long run was 12.5 miles. I was so
filled with gratitude for the friends that I have met through the Dana Farber Marathon
Challenge Team. I appreciate their companionship on runs and their collective
commitment and effort in supporting a world without cancer. Running with such a
great group reminds me that we achieve great things when we are willing to push
the capacity of what we think is possible. We are not just running to log
miles, we are running to raise money to support cancer research and a world
without cancer. I cannot think of a better way to spend a Saturday morning.
With gratitude,
Kerry
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