The Run

I chose ten miles for my comeback run because I want to challenge myself to a healthy, maximum capacity, and when I run more than ten, my hips and knees start to complain! Before I started breast cancer treatment, I was doing an eight to ten mile run most weekends, and my goal for the last year and one half has been to get back to those runs.

Because my friends and I weren’t able to find an official ten mile race, we brainstormed places we might like to spend a weekend together: somewhere beautiful, family friendly and ideally, fairly flat! Thanks to the generosity of Phil and Ellen, the dreamy fantasy of Nantucket became a reality.

My dear friend and weekly running buddy Nunia contacted the organizers of the Nantucket Half Marathon, which takes place every year in October. Within hours, she heard back from one of the organizers, Danielle O’Dell, who graciously agreed to help. She gave us a few options of routes, and when we read her description of one in particular, we were sold:

“This one is the most adventurous and would take a bit of navigating – but would be very worth it as the route is unique, you’d see parts of the island you would never see otherwise, and it is GORGEOUS.

So, six families will travel to the island on May 6. My running companions and I will run this ten mile route on May 7. Our partners will watch the kids. The kids will make signs and cheer us on (as they’ve done during past races)!

Our run will end at the ocean, where some of us may decide to jump in, before heading to the Cisco Brewery to celebrate our success!

This run is a community effort and a community celebration! I cannot imagine being where I am today were it not for the incredible support of friends and family.

The week I started cancer treatment, Nunia and another dear friend and weekly running partner, Hannah, sent me this video from their half marathon. Watching it now brings me back to where I was in November 2014 (wrecked by chemotherapy); and it reminds me of how far I’ve come toward rebuilding my health, my strength and my stamina! I’m so glad to be running with these women again!