mom's story
The last three months (Sept-Oct) have been crazy for me and FiftyTwo4Mom. I have had back to back races almost every week and put a lot of miles (many in Michigan) on both myself and the Jeep. The nice thing about the bonus races I have been doing in Michigan is that it has allowed me to bring Mom along for part of my journey. It has also given her the opportunity to personally tell her story to others, which I think has had a therapeutic affect on her and given her some courage to be more adventurous.
Mom survived the crowds of over 50 thousand people in Flint during the Crim Festival, made friends, and with their help managed to find me before I ran across the Finish Line. She has opened herself up to talking to strangers, OK not a HUGE change from her if you know my mom, but when it comes to talking about her condition and asking for donations, this was a big step. She even agreed to do a 5k race with me in our hometown of Waterford, Michigan.
October 6th was moms birthday, and also the month in which she lost sight in her first eye in ‘97 and her second in ‘98. Not only was this race a chance to celebrate us doing something special for her birthday, but it was also my opportunity to show her how much she has overcome throughout the years and how strong she continues to be.
We had to arrive at the race an hour before, so that I could set up a table and pass out info to the runners. Mom helped with the race organizers to pass out race packets to the runners and of course make some new friends. This being a race in our home community it was extra special to talk to people about what we are doing to help people with optic nerve disorders. I even met a high school girl who herself has a nerve disorder and was so happy to see someone doing something to help people like her.
The Run at the Farm 5k was a VERY challenging, hilly, cross country course at Hess Hathaway Park. There were at least 7 or 8 
hills, several of which were pretty vertical. I had mom walking 3-4 miles 3 days a week, but had not been training her on any hills since I did not know the layout of the course. I was a little concerned after the first hill, especially when mom proclaimed that she may not be able to finish the course if this was just the FIRST of many hills. I managed to break the race down for her into intervals, encouraging her after each one and pushing her to the next hill. “Just one hill at a time,” I would proclaim to her. As I always tell her, time goals are great, but sometimes just completing the race is the ultimate accomplishment.
Needless to say, mom impressed me beyond belief as she powered up each hill, pushing herself beyond anything she has physically since she was an athlete in high school. We crossed the finish line at the same time with our hands in the air and mom was all smiles, excited to finish her first, but not last, 5k. My next run will be a marathon in Oklahoma for my birthday and I look forward to finding more races to get mom involved in as well.
Check out the pictures from “Mom’s Run” at our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43854&id=172123116132894
