Run to the Sun a 95 Mile Relay for Batten Disease
In a
previous blog post I wrote about running in Run to the Sun, which is an
overnight 95-mile relay race for Batten disease. I did this run with eight of
my closest sorority sisters and three of my best friends from high school. This
was one of the most memorable and rewarding things I’ve ever done. Here are my
reflections on the weekend:
1.
The best part of doing this run was being with
my sorority sisters. I really saw how much they cared about me and wanted to
support something that means the world to me. I mean we ran 95.5 miles and
stayed awake for 15.5 hours!!! Who is crazy enough to do that?! … My zeta sisters.
2.
Not only did we get closer to each other this
weekend, but we also learned about the reality of Batten disease. When I
started the 7th leg of the run it was about 10:30 pm. It was dark
and so hard to see anything on the country road that I was running on. While I was running I just kept thinking about
Christiane, and all the children with Batten disease that are going to lose
their vision. I started to cry and pray as I ran for all those children and
their families. It was an eye opening and humbling experience.
3.
Not only we’re we challenged by the limited
amount of light, but we also had to conquer tons of hills in our run. At one
point in my run I looked ahead and saw that I was about to run up one of the
steepest hills I’d yet to face. Maddy McGlamery knew what I was thinking and at
the perfect time she drove up next to me, rolled down the window, and said to
me, “We do not live by sight alone, we
live by faith. Don’t look at that hill. You can do it. Just keep going”.
She said everything that I needed to hear in that moment. She gave me so much
courage that I didn’t stop running from that point on until I crossed the final
finish line.
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| Our team at Exchange Station 2 with Christiane's Girl Scout Troop. |
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| The best part about running through the night was getting to see the sun set. |
At times we wanted to just get in the car and drive a couple miles and get back out and run (these thoughts especially started to surface around 3 am), but we never gave in. We ran every mile of the race. When someone needed encouragement or help finishing a leg of the run, a sorority sister jumped in to take over. Kate ran 4.5 miles of Bekah’s leg without hesitating (her motherly instincts kicked in). Tori ran next to me for the last couple of miles of my 7-mile run. And Emma refused to let me run the last leg of the race by myself. She stuck with me until the end.
5.
Our team
raised $6,776!! We exceeded our goal!!
6.
SLOW AND STEADY FINISHES THE RACE. We started at
3:30 pm on Saturday and crossed the finish line on Sunday at 7:59 am… BUT we
ran all 95.5 miles!
Thank you to everyone that made a donation and ESPECIALLY to my sister that ran in the relay: Anna Fleury, Bekah Thayer, Chelsea Carbonel, Emma Weiss, Kate Onofrey, Kim Boller, Maddy McGlamery and Tori Pell.
ZL,
Megan Gallishaw
'PC 09
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