20 Oct Getting ready to Run the Rock
Ok, so it’s not called the White Rock marathon anymore, just the Dallas marathon, but “run Dallas” doesn’t quite have the same ring. Leave it to Dallas to mess up a good thing.
You may remember this post from back in April when I talked about starting to run again after a hiatus of several years after Keegan’s birth. Well, despite setbacks from surgery and inpatient stays, I’ve kept it up and finally feel like I’m back in the game. I ran a 20K race the day of Keegan’s 5th birthday party, and I placed third in my age group in a 5K at the beginning of the month (just 1 minute faster to be first, sheesh). Time to move on to bigger things though.
I ran my last half marathon, the Country Music half, in Nashville in 2005, the day after my very last law school exam. I was training for the 2007 White Rock half (it used to be run at the beginning of the year) when I found out I was pregnant with Keegan. It’s rather fitting, I suppose, that my first distance race after resuming running would be to finish where I left off. So, I am registered for and getting ready to run the Dallas half marathon on December 9. (See, so much less allure in that sentence than “run the Rock half marathon”…oh well.) I would love to be in shape to run the full, but alas, that will have to wait until another time.
The best part about this race though is that it benefits Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children, where Keegan sees his rheumatology team and developmental pediatrician. It couldn’t be a more perfect race to run.
But I’m going to need your help to do it!
1. I’ve signed up to fundraise for the hospital and am hoping to raise at least $250. TSRHC has been operated by the Masons completely free of charge to its patients since its founding in 1921. Until this year, when the strains of healthcare costs and economic depression caused the hospital to have to start seeking reimbursement from private insurance and Medicaid. Uninsured children are still never asked to pay, nor are any co-pays or deductibles charged to any patient family. This still means that the nonprofit hospital operates almost completely on donations to care for the children treated there every day.
TSRHC is a unique place, unlike the other hospitals where Keegan is treated. He adores going to see Dr. Punaro and her team at “his crayon hospital”. We could not be more grateful for Dr. Punaro’s ability to see Keegan as a complete child and how each treatment and medication affects his entire wellbeing, as well as how it affects our family life. The hospital holds a special place in my heart beyond the loving treatment my son has received there because I, too, was treated there as an infant to correct my foot alignment. Scottish Rite has been in our family for over 30 years now.
If you feel called to support TSRHC and my race, I have set up a page for secure online donations through the marathon website:
http://www.dallasmarathon.com/donate/?kwoAdvocateId=4QQQ5W1
If you would like to help but not donate online, please email me, and I will be happy to arrange something else. Thank you in advance!!!
2. I also signed up with Team Beads of Courage to carry a very special bead with me on race day. You may know that Keegan has participated in the Beads of Courage program since it came to Children’s in 2010. He has countless beads – over 28 strands now. They are an amazing testament to his journey over the last five years. I am excited to carry a bead with me, infuse it with hope and encouragement before sending it back to BoC to be passed on to a child battling heart disease, cancer, or other chronic ailments.
