"Whatever you heard prior, You can only live your life, like a person you'd admire, You can learn it in a bottle, learn it in dream, That the way you see yourself is the way you need to be..." SK6ers
The honest truth (finally) comes out…
Do you have a best friend? Marilyn is mine. She says cancer sucks, and I believe her, because Marilyn has never lied to me. She has already lost all of her hair but Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will make sure she doesn’t lose her boobs. (And by the way- she still looks beautiful!) That’s why I’m running the New York City marathon, to raise money for MSKCC, so they can continue to treat Marilyn and so many other people with cancer.
The truth is that Marilyn is the reason I run marathons at all. She doesn’t know it (well didn’t until now), but given the circumstances I feel it’s appropriate to reveal the REAL reason I became a competitive runner, as it makes this entire fundraising experience so much more meaningful.
Between the two of us, I’m considered the more athletic one (and keep in mind when I say “athletic” I refer to only sports that require minimal coordination or equipment). I’ve run for fitness for many years. So I seem to be the one more likely to participate in running activities. Not quite so.
In 2004 a friend of Marilyn’s convinced her to sign up for a half-marathon in Virginia. She agreed and convinced me to join as well. It would have been my first competitive run but I cancelled for reasons I can’t remember now. Marilyn brought back my T-shirt but I could never bring myself to wear it, as I hadn’t completed the race. On some level it bothered me that she had this over me when I was technically the runner between us. It wasn’t anything personal against her. She is my best friend after all! But to prove myself, I signed up for a different half marathon. At the end of that race, exhausted and in pain, I looked at the other runners whizzing by for the next half of their full marathon and swore I would never ever run a full marathon. Well, damn it if she didn’t trump me again.
In 2007 Marilyn announced that she was running the Los Angeles marathon. I was so proud of her. And yet in the back of my mind I thought if she could do it then I could too. Within months, an opportunity arose. A bottle of wine deep, I agreed to buy a friend’s bib for the 2008 Chicago marathon. I had five weeks to prepare. (And it is still my best time.) It’s a wonder what a few cocktails and some healthy competition will do to a girl.
I am now getting ready to run my fifth full marathon, this time to raise money on Marilyn’s behalf for MSKCC’s breast cancer treatment center. How appropriate that my inspiration for this fundraiser is the very reason I’m a runner at all!
Do you have a best friend? Marilyn is mine. She says cancer sucks, and I believe her, because Marilyn has never lied to me. She has already lost all of her hair but Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center will make sure she doesn’t lose her boobs. (And by the way- she still looks beautiful!) That’s why I’m running the New York City marathon, to raise money for MSKCC, so they can continue to treat Marilyn and so many other people with cancer.
The truth is that Marilyn is the reason I run marathons at all. She doesn’t know it (well didn’t until now), but given the circumstances I feel it’s appropriate to reveal the REAL reason I became a competitive runner, as it makes this entire fundraising experience so much more meaningful.
Between the two of us, I’m considered the more athletic one (and keep in mind when I say “athletic” I refer to only sports that require minimal coordination or equipment). I’ve run for fitness for many years. So I seem to be the one more likely to participate in running activities. Not quite so.
In 2004 a friend of Marilyn’s convinced her to sign up for a half-marathon in Virginia. She agreed and convinced me to join as well. It would have been my first competitive run but I cancelled for reasons I can’t remember now. Marilyn brought back my T-shirt but I could never bring myself to wear it, as I hadn’t completed the race. On some level it bothered me that she had this over me when I was technically the runner between us. It wasn’t anything personal against her. She is my best friend after all! But to prove myself, I signed up for a different half marathon. At the end of that race, exhausted and in pain, I looked at the other runners whizzing by for the next half of their full marathon and swore I would never ever run a full marathon. Well, damn it if she didn’t trump me again.
In 2007 Marilyn announced that she was running the Los Angeles marathon. I was so proud of her. And yet in the back of my mind I thought if she could do it then I could too. Within months, an opportunity arose. A bottle of wine deep, I agreed to buy a friend’s bib for the 2008 Chicago marathon. I had five weeks to prepare. (And it is still my best time.) It’s a wonder what a few cocktails and some healthy competition will do to a girl.
I am now getting ready to run my fifth full marathon, this time to raise money on Marilyn’s behalf for MSKCC’s breast cancer treatment center. How appropriate that my inspiration for this fundraiser is the very reason I’m a runner at all!
