The race is hard. Living with cancer is difficult, especially when it ismesothelioma cancer.
Saturday, I fell in the second Alton Miles for Meso 5K the race, sponsored by the firm. I had the privilege to run alongside our customer Julie Gundlach who is a survivor of mesothelioma. This year, we both decided to challenge ourselves and run the courses instead of jubilant behind the scenes like last year.
Alton, whereas historically beautiful, is basically a large hill with the Mississippi River at the bottom. It is a challenging course. Some of the business runners who came from Kansas City said our race director that even they were impressed by
its degree of difficulty.
Before the start of the race, Julie gave a short speech about living with a diagnosis of mesothelioma and thanked everyone for coming. As she finished, she joked about being a slow runner. She got a laugh before saying: "I hate running, but I look like," I get to do. "My husband and daughter were running and they are faster than me. But to run with me is great."
One of our local newspapers, The Alton Telegraph ran a story about the race featuring Julie later this afternoon. Reading it you learn that she is a survivor of 49 months and has mesothelioma in her abdomen, as opposed to the lungs. She underwent numerous surgeries and intensive chemotherapy.
As Julie crossed the finish line, about 40 minutes after we started, people cheered.
Working with people and families affected by terminal cancer every day, I want to remember also those who could not be there. Overlooking the Saturday crowd, I saw too many familiar faces belonging to family members who have lost their relatives in this devastating disease. These are the people who inspire me.
The race is difficult, but worth it because we are running towards healing.
