The Folks

I will hopefully be on Staten Island ready to start the marathon one week from today.  I have already started to pack a few things and get ready to leave for New York on Friday.  I don't want to get too sappy, but with a week to go, I just wanted at least write one post about how much this has meant to me and why I decided to start in the first place.  Training for this race has been so great and I can't begin to thank everyone for the support.  I initially decided to sign up because I wanted to run a marathon to see if I could do it and loved watching my Dad run the NYC marathon in 2002.  I decided to run for Fred's Team and raise money for Sloan-Kettering because of my Mom.  Training for this race has helped me in some way stay connected to her and help to do something to contribute cancer research. 

For those of you who didn't know my Mom, she was a great person with a great smile, a lot of fun to be around and a great sense of adventure.  My Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer when I was a sophomore in college and she was in treatment and remission, but then she eventually passed away my senior year from brain cancer.  Both of my parents were such fighters through that time and also kept their sense of humor through it all.  Even when you are 19 or 20, I don't think you realize how amazing your parents are and how lucky I am to have them.  I definitely have realized that as I've gotten older and looking back, they were so strong through such a tough time.  My Mom will have passed away 15 years ago in January which is a really long time.  There are so many moments I wish I could have shared with her over that time, but over my long runs training for this I've thought about her a lot.  And even though she hasn't been around for things in my life over the past few years, she has so much influenced the person I am.  I also have gotten a chance to talk about her through raising money for Sloan-Kettering either because of people asking about her picture on my fundraising page or by sharing stories of why I'm running with other people on Fred's Team who seem to have a similar story.

When I'm running the marathon, I'm sure I will think about my Mom and how I wish she could see me run, but I know she is watching.  I am so grateful for the family and friends that I have now and so glad they will be there to have a pasta dinner with me the night before and to cheer me on.  I'm so thankful for all the generous donations from people in support of my run who have helped me to feel like I am making a small difference against a disease that often seems so unfair.

And I swear if any of my friends reading this think of saying something like "your Mom would be proud" when and if I finish, please don't!  I will probably lose it and no one needs tears on a fun day like marathon day!  So just say "way to go Lisa" and I'll know that my Mom would say the same.  I will try and have a big smile on my face just for her as I cross the finish line.

Lisa