"On April 29, 2004 our lives were to be forever changed ... Gary was diagnosed with late stage lung cancer. Having never smoked, the diagnosis came with shock and disbelief. But the biopsy and CT scan revealed a deadly disease that had gone undetected in its early stage and now left very little hope of a cure.
Determined to beat tremendous odds, Gary did everything he could to preserve his life for his family. This included standard cancer treatments as well as a rarely done double lung transplant. However, despite his heroic efforts, Gary succumbed to lung cancer September 9, 2007.
Lung cancer is a silent killer that takes life one breath at a time. Because symptoms usually do not occur until late stages, it is difficult to treat and cure. For this reason, there is a great need for an early detection screening.
Gary's journey with lung cancer began long before he was even aware of its presence ... long before chemotherapy, radiation and a double lung transplant. It was his greatest hope to give others the advantage of early detection, the best chances for treatment and above all ... the gift of life and breath."
I did it! I've done it before and I'll do it again, but this year's Gift of Life and Breath race was a triumphant success!
I raced with my dear friend Donita. She and I have been training together for a few months. We both beat our training times by MINUTES!
Cory, Creighton, Connor, and Zachary also raced. Zach was the winner out of all of us and it was his first 5K even. No longer can he ever use the excuse that he's too tired or slow :) We know how fast he is now. The kid should race cross country.
Kraig came to see us off, but couldn't do the entire race because he had to work. He did run a few blocks with me about a mile into it and raised my spirits and cheered my soul to push on.
This was Cory's second 5K and she beat her previous time by over 1:30. Well done! Keep up the good work.
My friend Chadlee also raced. It's always fun to see friends joined in a good cause.
So here were the overall race standings for my group of runners:
Zachary: 113th/629 entrants Time: 27:52 Pace: 9:00 minute mile
Creighton: 135th/629 entrants Time: 29:17 Pace: 9:27 minute mile
Jacqui: 162th/629 entrants Time: 30:29 Pace: 9:50 minute mile (When I did my math, I had a 9:30 minute mile, but this is ok too :)
Donita 167th/629 entrants Time: 30:46 Pace: 9:56 minute mile
Connor: 168th/629 entrants Time: 30:51 Pace: 9:58 minute mile
Cory: 308th/629 entrants Time: 40:10 Pace: 12:58 minute mile
Just so everyone takes note, I want to point out that I beat Connor, my 15 year old nephew. Not to rub it in or anything, but I feel pretty good about that :) All our hard work has paid off that I beat the teenager :)
9 comments:
Great job everbody! What fun to race together with friends and family. Great job on your time! You are amazing!
Well done! You SO would have beaten Darren if we had been there. That is great that the boys got to race, too, and even greater that you beat Connor. :) Bro. Z's story always brings a tear to my eye...
So proud of you!
Awesome, awesome, awesome!
Way to go! Races are so fun (at least once you finish) and even better for a great cause. I love to feel the sense of community and the power of united people. (Is that the cheesiest thing I've ever said?)
It was fun to see you! I'm glad the sun came out once the race started. I want to do it again next year, too. We'll have to recruit more people!
Great job! It was fun to see and feel the excitement and pride of accomplishment when everyone came back home bubbling over with their individual accomplishments.
Great work Jacqui! Looks like a fun day!
Awesome!
Post a Comment