My running experience with AREC has been…delightful! It is one of the few constants in my life in the past 2-3 years of tumult.
I’ve been with AREC since…2001.
I run with AREC because…it’s like running with family and because it’s something I can count on.
The best thing about AREC is…Lars (with a laugh!)…the nice people and how supportive everybody is…and Lars…and Snowball’s ass…looking at Greg’s body!
I race because…if I’m running, I’m not dying.
My favorite race is…the Camp Pendleton Mud Run.
After a race I treat myself to…a nap.
My running mantra…”Just keep swimming, just keep swimming” (from “Finding Nemo”) and “Those who wait upon the Lord will gain new strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not grow weary.”
I’m inspired by…Michelle Herzog who looks like a goddess, at 9 months pregnant, and who ran throughout her whole pregnancy.
My running hero is…Marla Runyan, the runner who’s blind…Haile Gebreselassie and other Ethiopian and South African runners—I’m absolutely in awe of them…the Kipketer family.
My dream is…to break 45 in the 10K and just get faster from there.
The best advice I ever got was…just keep swimming, just keep swimming (with laughter!)…you can’t run fast, if you don’t run fast.
I have learned…just being outside with other athletes, whether it’s running or walking, is life and that is what is healing me.
I love…to run, the feeling of running…I love AREC!
I hate…not being able to run with the speed or intensity I’m used to—I hate this damn weakness.
I like 5K’s and 10K’s because…5K’s still make me feel like I accomplished something. 10K is my distance—perfect for me but I haven’t been able to do them. 5K’s because they still count.
I hope…AREC never teeters out and continues to grow.
Final thoughts…Thank you to everyone who has supported me so amazingly and unselfishly. On January 10th, it will be 2 years since the diagnosis. The average death rate is 3-6 months after diagnosis. Pancreatic cancer has a 1% survival rate. I absolutely attribute the fact that I’ve been able to survive as long as I have to my experience with AREC.