My 10th year running as a hero for St. Jude. 😍 Every time I say that I, myself, can hardly believe it's been 10 years! I still remember the very first time I went to Memphis. The joy, the tears, the determination that I would return with more runners as heroes the next year and the sheer excitement of seeing and hearing from families that are helped by St. Jude.... Man ... what an experience! And it just gets better and better each year to me.
This year while running I came upon a girl standing on the side of the street holding a sign. As I got close to her I realized what it said and I had to stop and take a picture... I chatted with her for a moment and left there with tears streaming down my cheeks as I continued to run. This is why I run... So they can be a SURVIVOR...
St. Jude has done remarkable things over the years in their discoveries for treatments for children with cancer. As their sign says....
It's an amazing organization and I am honored to be a small part. Me, my mom, and daughter have made it an annual girls weekend for many years now. They walk the 5K (except for the 1 year Erin did the half marathon) and I do the full marathon. I'm so happy my mom is able to be apart of this with me. 😍 We had a fabulous weekend at the Peabody... our fav place to stay while there. We really enjoyed the Feathers Spa also while there. I highly recommend a massage if you have time.
I was able to see a couple of my teammates.... Joe, who was doing his 88 marathon!, Sunshine, who was walking the 5K due to knee injury, Nestor, did the half instead of the full... said he wasn't trained properly for the full.. :>), Felicia, my PPRF, who completed yet another marathon after saying she'd never do another one 😁, Richard, who's turned into a running beast the last few years had an awesome marathon time, and his son also did the 5K.... and I also got to see the running super woman, Jennifer. I did not get to see Paul or Nicole who both ran the marathon. Our paths never crossed during the race. 😞 There were several teammates that ran virtually at home for St. Jude this year... Krista, Lindie, Michelle, and Candy 💓 I am so proud of all of these people! Team Run4TheKids raised over $13,000 this year. 💓 I can't wait for 2023!
Here are a few pics from my wonderful weekend with my mom, daughter and some teammates.
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| Me and Felicia at the hero booth |
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| Finished marathon #6 for 2022! |
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| Erin, Mom & Me getting our bibs..... we had rolled out of bed and traveled straight to expo... Erin was like mom... I haven't even gotten dressed... hee hee |
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| Mom and Erin getting ready to go walk the 5K |
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| Love our medals |
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| My outfit.. I decided not to wear my hero shirt this year... but wished I had... heroes get more cheering... |
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| Felicia, Jennifer and Me at the finish line... marathoners |
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| Sunshine, Mom & Erin heading down to walk the 5K |
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| Somehow Nestor (the bishop) always makes the news... 😂 |
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| Love my daughter! |
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| Joe and I in the Peabody lobby waiting for start time to walk outside to the corrals. |
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| got a new charm.... "Running Grandma" |
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| Jennifer & Felicia got this as I came in across the finish line. |
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| Felicia and I waiting to start... Love her! |
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| Marie, the 5 hour pacer, who I met several years ago.. she's had a massive stroke and keeps on running.. she's ran over 500 marathons! |
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| Dinner at Texas De Brazil |
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| We went out for music on Beale Street Saturday night to stretch my legs 😍 |
Finished marathon #6 for 2022 for me! Was it hard... YES... Was it worth it.... YES ... Will I do it again... YES AND YES! 😍 I was not sure I'd be doing this marathon this year. I had not ran in 2 months since Europe due to hip pain. I figured I had just over done it with back to back marathons along with all the 100 of miles I had ran during the year, so I rested a few weeks after Europe but it didn't get better. Ended up going to the doctor.. had X-Rays, steroid shots, etc.... They say .. no stress fracture... no hip joint issues..... basically much more arthritis in my joints and a bone spur...... not to mention I still have the bulging disc at L3-4-5.... So I do not take this marathon lightly.... I give God all the glory. Without his strength I would have never finished. I had only ran 10 miles in 2 months. So I had told myself just run until you can't and that's good enough.... but when I started at that start line and ran through the St. Jude Campus around mile 3.... I knew in my heart I would give it my all to finish the marathon. There were so many more families out this year at the campus. I was in tears as we ran through the campus. Felicia looked at me as we exited the campus and we were both crying and she said.. that was hard. It's hard seeing those families and knowing why they are there. When we got to the split where the half and full separate... I didn't even consider going on in... what I did was prayed... I prayed for Strength... I prayed for endurance... I prayed that I would think of the kids pain and not my own as my whole body begin to hurt all over after mile 15. It was HARD. But you know what... If you prepare yourself mentally... You can do it with God's help. He was my strength. 🙏💜
Today as my legs are still a tad sore... I thank God for allowing me to complete another marathon. God bless you all and happy running.
