Throwback to sophomore year high school track when I was literally the slowest runner on my team. Despite finishing the season and all-in-all having a good time hanging out with friends, I had every intention of that being the end of my running career and saving the sport for simply staying in shape. Flash forward almost four years to my second year of college and I had just finished my first (and what I had assumed would be last) half-marathon. And now, here we are, today, a little over a year later, and I’m in the process of preparing for my second of three races in the course of a month. You may be asking (and often I find myself asking), what happened? Why running? Well, ask me that about 9 miles into any run and often I will not have the best answer. But as soon as I cross that finish line and am so welcomed by the running community, all of the reasons come flooding back.
My personal journey with cancer begins long before I came into existence. My grandmother passed away from cancer when my mom was only 12. Hearing that even as I write this gives me goosebumps - I barely go 48 hours without a phone call to my mom. However, things entered a whole new level of “real” the summer of 2011 when my dad’s oldest brother, Dan, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Though the journey was not easy, that November we got the news he was in remission. While I was grateful that our immediate family had been blessed by this wonderful news, I struggled through the rest of high school as I watched a classmate, family friends, and the parents of teammates battle cancer - some have great survival stories but still far too many are unable to share their story today.
And just as it seems life can do, cancer appeared to follow me to college. First year first semester, I got the phone call one day while studying in Clark that Dan has been diagnosed with cancer again; this time colon cancer. Back in the battle field yet again. Being 3 hours away from my immediate family and over 10 hours away from my extended family, I felt so alone and helpless. I felt as though Dan and the rest of my family were facing a giant monster that was impossible to be defeated - attack one weakness and it can grow back three times stronger somewhere else.
However, during the following summer a series of events changed my perspective. First: on July 18th, 2014, I received the most joyful email: the all-clear. We - he - had in fact done it again. The monster had been defeated. However, I knew the story couldn’t stop there. While I was overjoyed that the Wnorowski family had defeated cancer, I realized I knew far too many people that were still in the midst of the fight. That fall semester I got the wonderful privilege to become a more integral part of Relay For Life at UVA. The more active I become, the more my peers inspired and motivated me to constantly do and push myself more; to somehow be a part of the movement that wasn’t backing down to the monster.
That fall, I signed up for the Anthem Richmond Half-Marathon as a way to honor Dan, who has run 30+ marathons AND is officially an IronMan x2 (crazy I know!). I viewed it as a way to grow closer to him while also raising awareness of cancer among my close friends and family. I had every intention to finish that race, be thrilled with the fact that I had completed a half-marathon, do some fundraising through some sponsorships, grow a step closer to Dan, and then go back to my weekly (maybe monthly) 2 mile runs. But the feelings of race day are something incredible, especially with the Richmond Half-Marathon.
You begin the night before by going to the running expo where there are runners, families, friends, and businesses from throughout the East Coast. All so excited to be there and upon finding out this is your first race, spouting out more race-day advice and words of encouragement than you can find on Tumblr. Then the next morning, you begin by waking up at 5 a.m. and making the early morning drive to the city where you park and begin the walk to the start. Runners everywhere. The nerves hit - so many incredibly physically fit people. I can’t do this. What if I come in last? What if my time is awful? Oh this is a bad idea. But soon enough, you’re shuffled into your time group by the most peppy announcer who knows more One Direction lyrics than the average teenage girl and before you even have time to re-tie your shoes, the gun has gone off and you’re off.
Each mile comes and goes, and with each stretch of the road there are crowds of people cheering you on. Supportive signs including: “13.1... you’re only half crazy!” and “Run like Ryan Gosling is at the end with a puppy!” Dogs, children, Gatorade, beer, and high-fives make each mile come and go until before you know it you have reached the 13 mile sign and are on the final downhill stretch and then wa-la: you’re done! The finish is filled with people taking pictures, handing out medals, blankets, food, water, you name it. Random runners walk up and congratulate you. You find your best friend and family who embrace you with the best hugs despite your slightly sweaty stench. The community is something so unique and amazing, and I had this epiphany moment. This is the community Relay For Life creates.
It is a world-wide organization whose main goal and mission is to be a support system for the individuals and families battling cancer each and every day. Whether that means handing out a meal and a place to stay at the Hope Lodge after a long race or offering a supportive shoulder right when things seem to be the toughest. All of us are at different spots in the race. Some people are the runners - those battling cancer and undergoing various treatments. Others are the families - waiting anxiously to see moms, dads, brothers, and sisters run every step of the way and willing to give whatever it takes to be as supportive as possible. And others are the volunteers - those who help set up or take down - doing whatever small things we can to help those runners finish. But we all come together for single, common goal - to see our beloved runners finish a race that we all dream will soon never have to be run - the race against cancer!
And so I have kept running. It serves as a reminder of the wonderful community of Relay For Life that I belong to and my integral role in being a volunteer to see patients cross the finish line. Since that first half in the fall of 2014, I have ran another half, a 10-miler, and have a 10K and third half in the next two weeks. The more I run, I have found there are days when the road is literally more uphill than I am prepared for, so I have developed a way to keep myself motivated and to remind myself how blessed I am to be able to be a part of this movement. Each race day, I write down on my arm the number of miles followed by the name of a friend or family member who is battling or has battled cancer. As someone who has a strong faith, I begin each mile with a Hail Mary followed by a special intention for that person and to remind myself that each step I take is reflective of the bigger picture that Relay is taking towards a future with no cancer.
So as I approach a 10K this Saturday, I started brainstorming who I will be running for:
Kilo 1 - I Relay for all of those who have already fought the fight against cancer - both those alive today to tell about it and those whose stories remain told by their loved one.
Kilo 2 - I Relay in honor of Dan Wnorowski - the reason I found two amazing communities of running and Relay For Life.
Kilo 3 - I Relay in memory of Maria Hirst - the mother of my mom who I never met, but judging by her daughter, can tell she was an incredible person.
Kilo 4 - I Relay in honor of Maria Davalos Oesterle, my mother’s sister who has battled breast cancer.
Kilo 5 - I Relay in memory of Polly Zeiger - an amazing mother and teacher who affected more lives than she’ll ever know
Kilo 6 - I Relay in honor of Dr. Erin Champagne - as amazing veterinarian who has taught me incredible both academic and life lessons
Kilo 7 - I Relay in honor of Julie Snyder - a good friend’s mother who helped raise me into the person I am today
Kilo 8 - I Relay in honor of Charlie Humphreys - who is one of the strongest kids I know and just so happened to defeat brain cancer
Kilo 9 - I Relay in memory of Kendall Bayne - an amazing student who has been an inspiration to so many people
Kilo 10 - I Relay in honor of a future in which my children will not face a world in which the word cancer can bring so much heartbreak.
And so I run to see a world in which the word cancer is something of the past. But until that moment, I’ll keep fundraising and keep attending Relay For Life moments and love every moment of being part of such a strong community. Donate to my personal page. Join our team. Start to learn more. Most importantly, similar to what Nike says, Just do something.
RelayLove,
Member Publicity Committee
