My Inspriation

Today marks 3 years to the day that my Aunt Mary Anne Beecher, more affectionately known to me as Aunt Goofy, passed away from from lymphoma. She was one of my closest friends in the world and I looked to her often in hope that her quirkiness and outrageously positive outlook on life would rub off on me a bit. When she was diagnosed with cancer, I was devastated because I couldn't even bear the thought of her not being in my life. I couldn't believe that there was a chance that she wouldn't be at my college graduation yelling "Go Dawnie-poo" as she had years earlier during my high school graduation. I couldn't grasp the fact that I wouldn't be able to see what crazy fun items she came up with to make part of my wedding, or that she wouldn't be here to teach my kids the "dump truck", "waterfall" or the perfect art of flinging peas at the dinner table as she had done with me when I was younger. Most importantly, I didn't even want to think about the fact that there would be a day where I couldn't hear her voice tell me that I would always be her #1.


But unfortunately, as you can tell by the first sentence of this post, after an unbelievable fight with the dreaded cancer, she lost her battle on July 29, 2006. Three years ago to the day. The past three years have been a roller coaster of emotions but her not being here in body has been the reason and my motivation for training for this half marathon with Team in Training. The great memories I have of her and the time we've spent together continue to push me to raise the funds needed so that there can be advancements made in cancer research to prevent more people from having to go through what she did. I have a hope, one that I know Aunt Goofy would have shared with me, that no one would have to go though losing a loved one from cancer - a hope that people can continue to make memories together instead of relying on the great memories of the past. I know that I'm going to continue to use my positive memories of her to fuel my runs, to get me to keep running despite how tired I may be. I know that taking on, and eventually overcoming, this challenge is something that is making her proud and I want to make sure that I remain her #1.


I have spent the last two years on July 29th being sad and morning the loss of one of my favorite people in the world. Today, while still sad from missing her and wishing that she could be here with me, I'm going to celebrate her life. I'm proud of myself for taking on this challenge in her honor and hope that others can recognize that. She's my inspiration.

Today's Miles: 2.5
Total Miles: 108.5