A MESSAGE FROM New York City Marathon Fundraising for Alexa, John and Kristen
Hi all!
I'm excited to share that I will be running the NYC Marathon this year with my Dad (John), and my best friend (Kristen Harding)! We will be running for many reasons, including honoring our friend Christy, my Dad running his 10th marathon, and all of us raising money for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
First off, Kristen's best college friend whom I came to know well, Christy Borland, passed away at the age of 26 in 2018 from Cystic Fibrosis and ultimately Stage IV Colon Cancer. Kristen and Christy met the first day of college and were inseparable from that point on. Kristen and Christy would come to visit and stay with me in college, and I would see the daily routine of Christy with her percussion vest, breathing treatments, and many medications. One doesn’t fully realize the daily struggle of someone with CF until you see it first-hand. Despite hours of treatments every day, Christy was such a light to be around. She always had a smile on her face, made the best of every moment, and never wanted anyone to feel bad for her. I think she inspired everyone around her. I went on to pursue a Master's degree as a Physician Assistant, graduated in 2017, and am now working in a Cardiopulmonary ICU in Salt Lake City, Utah. I have worked with patients with CF, and despite their diagnosis, they have not let that define them.
In addition, this will be my dad's 10th and last marathon. He ran his first Boston marathon when he was 27 years old in 1989, and told himself he was going to run 10 in his lifetime. He went on to run 8 consecutive Boston Marathons with qualifying times until 1996, when he ran his best time of 2:59:58! Fast forward 17 years, 3 kids later, he again had time to train for his 9th marathon, the 117th running of the Boston Marathon (2013), also known as the Boston Marathon Bombing. My Dad finished the race and was walking under the grandstands directly across the road when the first bomb went off, followed shortly by the second. Moments of panic followed with phones down and no way to get in contact with him. He witnessed the aftermath of the bombing, a day he won't forget. He was one of the lucky ones.
Now, 11 years later - with prompting from me :) - he has decided to train for and run the New York City Marathon with Kristen and I in support of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
We will be running in honor of Christy and all of those affected by CF, and know that she will be cheering us on not only during the race, but as we start training over the next few months. We are honored to be raising money for this Foundation not only together but with the rest of the CF team, and we are so fortunate to be healthy and able to run this all together. Any donation you can provide is appreciated more than you know.
If you've made it this far, thank you for taking the time to read our story :)
We would love to see you out there in NY November 3rd!!
Let the training begin!!
In the words of Christy - "If you wake up everyday healthy, I beg of you to go explore this beautiful planet we live on. Tell those that you love that you love them now. Take care of your body the best you can, it's the only one you have and you never know when you can unexpectedly lose the health we all take for granted. Show me this is all somehow making a positive change in the crazy world we live in".
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