October 15, 2013 - An Amazing Day!!

Yesterday was an amazing day! First, October 15 is my dearest friend's birthday. Rose and I met when we were just 10 and 11 years old, respectively, when I moved into the house next door to her in Barrington, Rhode Island. Through the tumultuous times of middle school and high school, she was my rock. Whether we were roller skating through our neighborhood, mucking stalls at the horse stable, or just hanging out at home, we always had a good time together. Even after I moved to Massachusetts halfway through high school, then went to Indiana to college and finally to California for veterinary school, Rose was there for me. So on October 15 I celebrate her kindness, her generous spirit, and our friendship. She is a gift in my life.

me, Rose's Dad, and Rose

October 15, 2013 was also special because I got to meet a lifelong hero of mine, Dr. Jane Goodall. Dr. Goodall was the recipient of the WildCare Environmental Award, and I was fortunate enough to attend the ceremony and reception. She spoke to us about the things that shaped her: her mother, who never squashed her curiosity and who encouraged her to pursue her goal of working with animals (even though that's not what girls did in those days!); her dog, Rusty,who taught her that animals experience the same emotions humans do; and Dr. Louis Leakey, who took a chance by hiring her as his research assistant in Tanzania when she was in her 20s. Although she is approaching 80 years old, Dr. Goodall travels an average of 300 days per year, spreading her message of hope and the importance of caring for our planet. I was in awe just being in the same room with her. Once upon a time, she was just a little girl with a dream. She grew up, achieved that dream,and changed the world!

Marin IJ article about Jane Goodall's visit

Finally, yesterday was the day I received word that I was accepted to be on the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team, running the Boston Marathon on April 21, 2014. Having grown up near Boston, the Marathon has always been a big deal to me. I cried every time I watched it, moved to tears by the elite runners pushing the limits of what is humanly possible, by the soldiers running 26.2 miles in full gear, by Dick Hoyt pushing his son, Rick, and by the ordinary people, doing what they thought they couldn't do and raising money for charities in the process. When I first started running, I could barely run a mile without stopping. My husband Edward and I did a few "fun" races, like Bay To Breakers (with lots of walk breaks for me) in the late 1990s and early 2000s. I had an ovarian tumor removed in 2002, and didn't run for a couple of years after that. Having moved to beautiful Marin County, Edward and I enjoyed hiking, and once we adopted our first child, we spent lots of time on the trails. My husband started running regularly in 2008, and he inspired me to run, too. I started slowly, and entered 5K and 10K races, though I was always in the back of the pack. I began enjoying longer runs, as they provided solitary, almost meditative quiet time. With Edward training for his first marathon in 2008, I was inspired to try a half-marathon.

My first half-marathon was in February 2009, the weekend before we traveled to China to adopt our second daughter, and Edward ran his first Boston Marathon that April. Although I continued to run several half-marathons each year, I was convinced that I could never run a full marathon. But in 2011, I was in the final phases of co-authoring a major veterinary textbook, a challenge I also had once thought I could never complete. I decided to take a leap of faith in myself and signed up for the California International Marathon, which I ran in December 2011. I loved it! The weather was cold and sunny, the course was gorgeous, and the crowds were cheering. I didn't hit the wall until mile 23, and I was able to meet my goal of finishing in under 4:20.

Running the 2011 California International Marathon

That year, my Mom asked when I might run Boston. My reply - "Oh, I'll never run Boston. I'm not fast enough!" But as I prepared for my second marathon, Chicago in October 2012, I started wondering if running Boston for a charity team might be an option. By then, three of my friends had died of cancer: two were under 40 years old, and one was 45. In each of those situations, young children had lost a parent. Three additional friends were undergoing treatment for cancer. I knew that the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute is a nationally-renowned research and clinical facility whose doctors and scientists are making strides every day against the myriad forms of cancer from which humans suffer. I started thinking about joining the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team in 2012 and signed up to be on their e-mail list. We were planning a trip to China in April 2013, so I set my sights on 2014. My husband had qualified to run Boston again as well, so I thought it would be wonderful for both of us to run it in 2014.

After the horrific events at the 2013 Boston Marathon, and with so many runners who weren't able to finish the race, I wasn't sure what would happen with the 2014 field, and whether I even had a chance of joining the DFMC team. But as I continued to run almost every day, I kept thinking about it, and thought about ways I could raise funds. As soon as they began accepting applications in September, I applied for the team. I was so excited to receive word yesterday that I was accepted!

The doctors and researchers at Dana-Farber are pioneers, performing ground-breaking research into the genetic and environmental causes of cancer, and offering cutting-edge therapeutic options to patients. As a veterinarian, I have dedicated my life to helping prevent pain and suffering in animals and in doing so, I am also dedicated to improving the quality of life for their human companions. I want to see Dana Farber achieve its goal of stamping out cancer globally!


On this blog, I will be chronicling my training and fundraising efforts on the road to the 2014 Boston Marathon. I hope you will join me on this journey.