The Long Run

Though I am inspired by their lyrics, "Well, we're scared, but we ain't shakin' / Kinda bent, but we ain't breakin' / in the long run," this is not about The Eagles. It is about my mom and running.

A few months ago, I decided to run another marathon. I've run two marathons, but never very fast. After having a child, the running bug bit again, so I decided to try to qualify for Boston in a marathon this year. To this end, I signed up for the Shamrock Marathon in Virginia Beach in March and started running. A lot.

Running long distances requires the ability to put up with pain and discomfort. Long runs essentially inflict damage on your body in order to teach it how to heal itself and to become stronger. Long runs require pushing myself farther than I thought possible.

Marathon training also gives me a lot of time to think. While I was out in the icy, snowy weather pounding the pavement, I started thinking about why I run. I do enjoy it, of course, and the health benefits are obvious. But if those were the only reasons, then I would run shorter distances. There's something about a long run that makes me recognize both how fragile and how strong my body is. There's something that helps me understand how hard it is to move forward when times are hard.

Which brings me to my mom. My mother has a very rare disease called NMO, or Devic's Disease. NMO is an autoimmune neurological disorder that attacks the myelin sheaths around the optic nerves and spinal cord. My mom learned that she had NMO shortly after completely losing her sight and suffering from partial paralysis. She was blind and had trouble walking for a very long time. She has since recovered much of her sight and ability to walk, but NMO is a nasty disease. The treatments are often just as hard on her as the disease itself. At this point, there is no known cure and since it is such a newly identified disease (for years, doctors thought it was a type of MS), the treatment options are limited. Much more research needs to be done.

She struggles every day. Her body fights against her over the simplest tasks. While the effects of NMO are nasty, this isn't a blog about a disease. Instead, I want to celebrate my mom's strength, grace, and dignity. My mom is such a positive person, and her fortitude and stubbornness in the face of this disease have amazed me. She is my inspiration.

While it's in no way a fair comparison, my mom's disease has helped me to become a better runner. Her model has taught me to be strong even when my body is depleted, to be grateful that my body can carry me such far distances, and to be positive when I run into physical and emotional obstacles along the way. I'd like to do some small thing to give back to her.

While trying to qualify for Boston is an important personal goal, I wanted to set another goal for this race that went beyond me and my love of running. By race day on March 20, I want to raise at least $500 to support research for prevention, clinical treatment programs, and a potential cure for NMO. I also want to raise awareness about this disease.

I hope that you will help me reach this goal by donating to the Guthy-Jackson Foundation. If you make a donation through their site, 100% of your donation goes directly to NMO research and is tax deductible. The Guthy-Jackson Foundation does not allocate any donated monies to administrative support of the Foundation.

There are two ways to donate to the Foundation. One is through a written check mailed directly to the Foundation at All Greater Good Foundation, 8910 University Center Lane, Suite 725, San Diego, CA, 92122. The other is to visit the website at www.guthyjacksonfoundation.org/about-us/donate/ and to make a donation through PayPal. Be sure to write a note or memo letting them know that the donation is in honor of Patti Lellock, so that we know how much money we have raised. I myself have donated online, and it is easy and secure.

If it's within your means, please donate soon, so that I can reach my goal of $500 before the race. I will update you about my training and my fundraising progress on this blog. Any amount helps. Some people might choose to make a donation of so many dollars per mile (that's 26.2!). Please consider donating! Thank you!