My last 3 posts of the ribboned flowers have been for three people who meant a lot to me. Today I thought I’d do something a little different. Today a friend is racing his bike in orange socks. Orange is the kidney cancer awareness color. But He rides for someone who died of a different cancer. So this pink ribbon is to say thanks.
I have been running and riding my bike with the Huntsman Heroes for 7 years now and in that time I have met some pretty remarkable people and made a number of really great friends. All of them have their own stories of loss, hope, heartbreak or miracles; sometimes a combination of all four. And they aren’t the only ones who have been affected by cancer. The truth is that is touches us all in some way or another. Friends, family, co-workers, acquaintances; someone around us is affected. I could put the names of dozens of people on the picture and it would be appropriate. I hope that I don’t offend anyone because I didn’t choose their loved one’s name for my post today.
I started running to support a good cause, but some things changed March 5th 2016. I had asked to dedicate the training run that morning to Matt, who had just been diagnosed with cancer. The day before, March 4th, he died. It was hard to stand up in front of a group of people that morning who were running in support of my brother and let them know that he didn’t make it. And running was so much worse. Over the next 15 miles there were a lot of people who had kind words, or just ran part of the distance with me in silence while I ran and I cried and I walked. At the 15 mile mark I just wanted to stop, to never run again. And without the support of those people, I probably wouldn’t have made it.
The thing I learned that day is that we all need support. We all need people who get it. Sometimes we need to be the people who show support for others that are going through hard times. While I started this project because of people close to me, but it goes far beyond that. This is also for everyone else that has a story. I can only tell mine, and hope that it helps. I hope that I can use the project to help those who are working to find a way to stop us from having these stories.
Thanks to everyone who has supported me and my family and my friends and their families. And for those of you who are in need of support, well, my thoughts and prayers go out to you too.