What makes a 43-year-old woman decide to run a marathon anyway?

On September 3, 2006 our daughter Hannah lost her battle with Brain Cancer at age 5. She fought the disease with courage and grace, and she taught us all the true meaning of “Quality of Life.”  Whether she was swinging a golf club, tap-dancing across the stage, or helping a friend read a difficult word, Hannah lived her life to overflowing. She was always concerned with the welfare of others – (Did everyone have a turn on the swing? Are there enough cookies for the whole class?) –  Hannah was diagnosed at 4 and endured surgery, chemo and radiation in a battle against this insidious disease.

She had a lot of wonderful experiences along the way, including meeting Tim McGraw and Faith Hill in Kansas City in 2006. She came home beaming, explaining to her siblings, Chloe and Dane, that now she knew two “Tim’s – ‘Tim n’ Faith’ and ‘Tim McGraw.’”  We had to tell her that “Tim n’ Faith” was “Tim McGraw,” to which she responded, “Then I guess I know one Tim!” 

Hannah also met a special friend, Jeff McMahon, who plays keyboards for Tim’s band, the Dancehall Doctors. Jeff ran in New York last year, is on the board of TMF, and leads Team McGraw, the running program at TMF.

I joined the board of the Tug McGraw Foundation in 2008 to honor Hannah’s legacy and to focus attention on “Quality of Life.”  Along the way, I met my other inspiration, Jennifer McDevitt, who ran with Team McGraw last year in New York.  Jennifer, with her incredible husband Glen running beside her, is also fighting Brain Cancer and has run three other marathons – while on chemotherapy. I decided then and there that I could run a marathon, too. If Hannah could endure her aggressive chemotherapy with grace, and if Jennifer could run a marathon while on chemotherapy, then I could get up off the sofa and run a marathon, too.

So I am. I will be blessed to have a pink angel willing me on from Heaven, her amazing sister Chloe (11) on the sideline, and an inspiring woman (McDevitt) ahead of me on the route.

I need your help to raise funds to continue the amazing work of Dr. Lee Jones and his team at Duke University as they look at Quality of Life for Brain Cancer Patients and their Families. And I need your support as I run in the 2008 ING New York Marathon on November 2, the day before Hannah’s eighth birthday. 

LAU