Day 12: Donna Hampton

Today we ran from Syracuse, KS to Colby, KS.
When we left this morning we were still in Mountain Time but within 20 miles had switched to Central Time. We still left our host around 530. So basically an hour late. I was worried about how that would effect the heat we were running in. Kansas is very, very hot!! I had a heat index chart to follow the danger/caution we were in.

Today I ran with one of our Run Directors, Nicole. She's the biggest runner on our team. She's been a runner for 8 years! So, you could say I was a bit nervous; but I felt like I was ready. Nicole and I did well together. She pushed me and I liked the challenge. The last couple miles were killer! Due to the heat, and probably some dehydration, I started feeling a little dizzy on mile 10. I got some water and slowed down a bit but finished that leg. Our last two miles were so hot that I started wondering why were we still running! When I saw the rock that marked our 14th mile, I was the happiest I've been during running this entire trip.
Tonight we are staying at Colby UMC. We didn't have lunch donated today so we got to split up and do our own thing. A few girls and I went to a local steakhouse and asked if they would be willing to donate 5 meals for us. It was so amazing to sit and eat at a restaurant. I had a difficult time choosing what to order!

Today was dedicated to Donna Hampton. I met Donna at the community dinner last night in Syracuse. She had ovarian cancer and her story amazed many of us.

Donna was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at the age of 38 - this form of cancer is rare among women younger than 40. The tumor that twisted inside of her wrapped around many of her vital organs. The doctor that told her and 3 after that said there was nothing they could do for her. Donna had four children at home (ages 6, 13, 14 and 16). She and her husband refused to just give in to the disease. Donna kept going from doctor to doctor until she met with the best. He referred her to the "real best" - the man he had learned from - Dr. David Barkley. She went to the Little Rock Arkansas Cancer Center to see if he could help her. Dr. Barkley said he wouldn't do anything until Donna had undergone 6 weeks of daily radiation and chemotherapy implants.
The first two weeks of Donna's therapy were hell. Donna stayed in a hotel room while her mom watched over the kids. She said that she didn't want her children to see her at such a low point in her struggle to win the fight against cancer. Donna said she was taking double doses of pain medications and that she couldn't eat anything. She would be starving and when the plate of food was set in front of her she would get deathly ill. Donna said she started begging God to take her life. She told me that her husband said she couldn't do that for the sake of her children. So Donna put herself in the corner of her hotel room and prayed for two hours. She told God she knew he wouldn't put her through anything more than he knew she could handle. She told him that she had done all she could do and the rest was in his hands. After the two hours had elapsed, Donna got up out of the corner. She said everything was different from then on. She trusted that if she died or if she lived she had won because she would be here with her children or in Heaven with God.
After the next 4 weeks, Donna had completed her 6 weeks of radiation and had gotten one of the two implants. She refused the second. She went in for her appointment and was delighted to hear her tumor had shrank. Not only had it become less invasive, but it was completely contained inside her uterus. Donna had a complete hysterectomy. Her full faith in God, the many, many prayers of her family and friends, and God's love had healed Donna. Her daughter, Ladonna, said "My mother is a miracle... no one can tell me that the lord does not exist."

To Donna- you've made me realize yet another part of the fight against cancer. That's faith. You are so strong and inspiring. I know as I run I talk to God and ask him to let me keep going. I ask him for strength and the right mind to push myself harder and harder. I didn't think about how much He and the faith of warriors and their friends/families plays a role in a fight against the disease. You keep being strong! I'll be running and praying for you. 

Total miles: 125

Day 10: Matthew Miller and Day 11

Day 10 - 6/25/13

We ran from Boulder, CO to Pueblo, CO. We had a very difficult time following our route. We ended up changing things around so that we would be traveling/running on roads that were safe for our runners and easier for the van to turn around on. The delays from the morning’s confusion meant it was getting pretty late when we were finishing up our run. Nicole decided that we should drive to the host and finish our last two miles together. So we finished our two miles as a group in Pueblo 106 degrees…

The church we stayed at was really nice! But they only had two showers so six of us girls when to a public pool to shower. We were excited to have four showers to use! When we got there though we realized the showers were meant for rinsing not washing. There were no curtains and you had to hold down the handle for the water to come out. You couldn’t just turn it on and leave the water running…. What an experience! After our quick showers we went back to the church for dinner and sleep.

Today was dedicated to Matthew Miller. Matthew is the cousin of my brother’s girlfriend, Ashley. Matthew died of leukemia 

• 
  

  Matthew Miller
  October 22, 1983- November 24, 2000
  

  My cousin, Matthew Keith Miller, passed away at the young age of 17 after battling Ewings Sarcoma (type of bone cancer) for three years. I was only eight when Matt passed away, even though we did not have much time together we shared our love of pokemon for those few years. One family Christmas at my grandparent’s house in Olive Hill, he got two rare cards in one pack! I remember being so jealous of how lucky he was. Whenever he would come visit my house we would swap our huge binders of Pokemon cards to trade and look at. He ended up collecting all 150 of the original Pokemon cards!
  My mom had a special bond with Matthew since they spent a lot of time together throughout his life; he was even her ring bearer at her wedding. I asked her to share her thoughts and memories of Matt.
  “Matt was outgoing, extremely intelligent, and had a great sense of humor. He loved life and especially music. He played the guitar, drums, and had a beautiful voice. Matt loved his family, friends, and church. As much as Matt loved life and was determined to beat cancer, he passed away only a month after his 17th birthday to a long three-year battle with Ewings Sarcoma. This type of bone cancer occurs most frequently in teenagers and young adults.
  Matt was very mischievous as a little boy. One of my favorite memories was when he decided to be the photographer at a family reunion. When we had the pictures developed he had purposely cut off everyone’s heads. He thought it was so funny when we were trying to identify the people in the pictures. I have so many other great memories taking him to the pool and movies, we loved spending time together and always had a special bond.”
  His favorite bible verse: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain. PHIL 1:21

  Matthew is a prime example that cancer knows no age."

  

  
  

  

  
  

  

  
  

Total Miles: 113

Day 11: I was put in the support van today. Everyone on the team has to do support van at least twice during our trip. The people in the Support Van are responsible for finding meals if we don’t have them for the day and for getting fruit/vegetable/ice/etc donations. Leya, Piper and I started the day off by driving highway 50 straight to Syracuse, Kansas. Along the way we drove past a couple slaughterhouses L the thought of them and the smell made me want to puke. I was literally gagging in the front seat of the van. As soon as I could breath again, I called the running vans and warned them. We were hoping the teams wouldn’t have to run through that smell. I’m not sure how people live there….

We drove to the host and unloaded all the duffle bags and then went to Garden City about 50 miles east to ask for donations. Piper had a flight to catch at 230. Leya and I finished our errands and went back to the host to meet up with the rest of the team.

We had community dinner. And then everyone went to sleep at like 8… I was still wide-awake. Syracuse is only a couple miles away from the time zone barrier between Central and Mountain Time.  The forecast for tomorrow is calling for 106 degrees…. I’m worried about the heat index and runners getting heat exhaustion tomorrow.  We may have to end early depending on how bad it gets.

Day 9: Diane Bentler

Today we ran from Aspen, CO to Boulder, CO

My running partner today was Will. His IB band has been hurting him a lot lately and he hasn't been able to complete 12 miles most days. But today we got over halfway - which was really good! When Will had to stop running I was going to join another pair; but another girl in our van was having terrible shin splints.

Will and I in the van waiting for our next turn to run

Shana and Will couldn’t run so Sam and I ended up running together again. We ran through 11k ft elevation up a hill! And then through a town almost 12000 ft elevation. While in Black Hawk City,  Sam and I needed to use a restroom. We went into one of their many casinos (since that’s basically all they had) and asked politely if we could use their bathroom and then head back out on our run. The lady at the desk seemed concerned as she asked us our age (lying, we said we were both 21) and then to see our ID (which we obviously didn’t have on us in running shorts and tank tops – like seriously where would we have put them?). We then had to wait for a security person to walk us to the restroom (which we could see from the desk). When we got space from our escort Sam was like, “has it happened before that some runners came in here and started illegally gambling?” the woman quickly took us to the closest door when we came back out…. Strange.... 

Sam and I 

So Beautiful! 

Tonight for dinner I got to go out with my cousin Sarah Johnson! We drove into Denver and ate at a rooftop sports bar and grill. I hadn’t seen Sarah in years and I really enjoyed getting to catch up with her.  She showed me all of the stadiums in Denver and drove me down the popular streets. She has to wake up at 4 tomorrow morning for the Army and I have to get up at 4:30 so we called it an early night. I came back to the church we are staying at to work on my blog and get ready for bed. We are gaining two more runner during the night!! Their names are Leya and Piper. Can't wait to meet them tomorrow!! 

Today was for Diane Bentler. Two days ago, when we went to Arches National Park, I met Diane and her family. We were hiking up to Delicate Arch when part of her family started asked our group where we were from and what we were doing. A bunch of college kids running across the country for cancer seemed to intrigue them. The man told me about his wife having cancer and donated to support our team’s cause. A little further along the trail, we caught up to his wife and she introduced herself as Diane. She told me about how she was diagnosed with stage zero breast cancer – DCIS. Ductal Carcinoma in Situ. This is the earliest form of breast cancer. It's non invasion - meaning it hasn't spread out of the milk ducts. After finding the carcinoma, Diane had a lumpectomy and radiation treatment and was fortunate enough for that to be all she needed for the time being. It has now been four years and she says that she feels like she is strong and healthy - and seems like it too to have been hiking up a cliff to see Delicate Arch!!!  DCIS may be a stage zero form of cancer but it has the possibility of coming back. Multiple people I have met during my trip have encouraged all of us to get checked on a regular basis. One of my teammates also had DCIS and said hers was found at a normal annual appointment. 

Diane and I at Delicate Arch! 

Today was the perfect day to run for Diane because the mountain Sam and I conquered is similar to the hike Diane and I met on. The strength she had to climb the 3 mile round trip trail to see the beautiful arch correlates to the strength I needed to run up and down the rocky mountains. I admire her strength through her battle and her faith that she is healed. I got through the day thinking of her supporting my trip. I wanted to be strong like she is being. Thank you Diane. 

Day 8: Shawnna Pinson

Today we ran from Moab, Utah to Aspen, Colorado. Things got a little mixed up and unexpected.... to say the least. 

We got off to a late start… We left around 6am – not bad – and we drove up the mountain into the Rocky’s. For the safety of our runners we decided not to run up the mountain for several reasons. One: the mountain was a 5,000 ft climb. Two: it’s a one way street when you get up there a bit and would have been impossible for the vans to turn around. And three: the animals and strangers lurking in the woods…

So we drove up the mountain and then got lost! We spent hours wondering around the streets. At 8am, we ran into a private property sign and had to turn back around and find yet another route! By 9 we were down the mountain thanks to the help of many campers. But we were not where we wanted to be. We ended on a different side of the mountain. Turns out we did a giant loop. So 4 hours into our day we were a mile away from our host last night getting gas. After a quick subway stop we were driving towards Aspen.

Finally, we got to Aspen. 10 hours after we left Moab the first time! If you look the two cities up on Google maps it says 3 hours and 48 minutes... Not for our 4kforcancer team. We just really enjoy sitting in the car and bonding! Especially since we can't do that anywhere else???... Some teammates were disappointed and others were excited to have another rest day. We had the chance to run in Aspen if we wanted. I walked down to town with Kim B. and Elizabeth; we got amazing ice cream from Paradise Cafe and Bakery. YUM! 

After our trip to town we ate dinner at the host church. Dessert before dinner :D 

Today's trip was dedicated to Shawnna Pinson. 

I don't personally know Shawnna. She is a friend's friend. My mom and C.C. are really good friends. They go christmas shopping together one weekend every winter. We have known C.C.'s family since my younger sister and C.C.'s youngest daughter went to preschool together. 

Shawnna Pinson is a good friend of C.C.'s. Currently, Shawnna is battling ovarian cancer. 

To C.C. and the Zaino family, thank you for your support with my run! My supporters never realize how much it means to me to have them donating to and following my trip. Shawnna was on my mind throughout the day. When we were lost and unsure what to do I thought of how similarly she must feel. I am glad she has such good friends to be there by her side during her battle against cancer. She is in my thoughts and prayers - as well as those of my teammates. 

Total miles: 89 miles

Resting and Remembering Emily

 

Today was our first rest day! We got to sleep in!! Well to 7am; but that’s late when usually you wake up at 430…

We had to be out of the church we slept in last night by 8. We had our dedication circle like normal and then we all drove to a café/coffee shop. We drove down 191 to our next host and left the support van there. We then went to Arches Nation Park! Yesterday when Elizabeth and I played pick up football, we were told that we HAD to see Delicate Arch. So that’s the one trail our team hiked. The trail was supposed to take 2-3 hours. It’s a 3-mile round trip hike to see the arch. We stopped and took advantage of tons of photo opportunities so we took a little longer than expected. But we got some gorgeous pictures!!!

Delicate Arch, Arches National Park

After hiking we went back to our new host and relaxed for a while. We got everyone’s laundry together and a group of 6 of us went into town to do laundry and go to the aquatics center. Lindsay, Elizabeth, Bethie, Susan, Sarah and I went to the Moab Diner for dinner.  It was delicious! I had a western omelette, hash browns, toast and biscuits and gravy!!

We came back to the church to get ready for bed and to see the supermoon!  Tonight the moon was the closest and brightest full moon of 2013.  For some really cool information about this years supermoon and to see when the closest moon will be seen in the 21^st century (Dec. 6 2052) you can check out this link: http://earthsky.org/tonight/is-biggest-and-closest-full-moon-on-june-23-2013-a-supermoon#.UcZ1sZIMHFo

It’s where I learned more about the supermoon after being told by some of my teammates and citizens of Moab!

Today, even though it was a rest day, was dedicated in honor of someone. Today I honored Emily Benatar. She was a sister of mine in Alpha Phi at Washington University in St. Louis. Emily was in my pledge class. As freshmen we were all excited to join Alpha Phi and get to know all of our sisters. Late in the semester, Emily became very sick and was hospitalized. She had meningitis. Em was in the hospital for about three weeks. We weren’t allowed to visit her but we each wrote little notes and photoshopped them together to make a big poster which we had hung in her hospital room. The chapter was kept up to date on how she was doing and knew when her family came to town to be with her. We all clung to the idea that she was improving and would soon be healthy and happy again. After my finals in May, I went on an executive retreat with CS40 (a programming group at WashU). It was during those three days that I got the email that Em had passed. It was tragic. I didn’t know what to do or say or think. I missed the vigil at school because I was away for the retreat. No one with me knew Emily as well as I did and I was all alone taking in the news of her death.

I know this run is for cancer, but for me, Emily’s death was the only struggle that I have seen someone fight through. We followed how she was doing every day. Not a class went by that I didn’t check my email for an update. I imagine that’s how people feel when a loved one is struggling against cancer. When you can see their life slipping away. This goes to show us all that even when people may not have been through the exact situation you’re going through, it doesn't mean that they can't relate to you. Always know you have people to reach out to. Everyone goes through times of loss and agony.

Emily Benatar was an amazing young woman. She was beautiful and kind. She was a sister that I knew I could have a good time with and she would laugh and be silly to brighten someone’s day. She was incredible. I only knew Emily for about a year and was a sister to her for a semester. But she will always be in my heart. No one will ever forget her.

Rest in Peace Em

AOE

Day 6: Cancer Patients

Woohoo! We have made it through day 6! We are a fourth of the way done with our entire trip! It's sad and exciting at the same time. Today we ran from Bicknell, Utah to Moab, Utah; we each ran another 12 miles (my total is 89 miles)

These are some of the pictures from today. I ran with Sam Tucker. We had a great time running together and once we got to Moab, Sam Amanda and I went to the aquatics center to relax and get water massages by the jets.

After dinner a group of us went down to a cafe to get some gelato and then Elizabeth and I played a game of pick up football at the park on the way back to the church we are staying at tonight. After the game, their family invited us to the Moab Diner for some ice cream! I was stuffed from my dinner and dessert but Elizabeth got two scoops and we sat and chatted with some of the kids. After ice cream we just came back to start blogging and get some rest.
Since tomorrow is our rest day, we get to sleep in! Yeah, that means 7am but still its way later than 430! I had hoped that we would get to go out to the arches tonight to see the stars but we didn't fit it in because we can't drive the vans unless we are 21 :/

Today's Run was dedicated to some patients that my Aunt told me about. 
One of the patients is an 8 year old girl that has leukemia. My Aunt told me that she is in and out of the hospital a lot. The second patient is a 20 year old woman that has cancer in her chin and temple. And lastly, Aunt Ena told me about a 29 year old man with a rare and aggressive osteocercoma.

I ran with these patients on my mind because there are the ones that I was told about. But I know there are many many more patients out there that are in need of our thoughts and prayers. Today was a day for me to think about all those affected by cancer and their families and friends. Running for patients I have never met different for me, since usually I blog about one specific person... But it allowed me to let in all those affected by cancer. It made me think of just how many lives have been altered due to the disease. As I have told many of you, there is one young adult diagnosed every 8 minutes! That's over 70,000 a year! And thats only ages 15-39. Can you even imagine the total count? 

Tomorrow will be a rest day for our team. We will be hiking out to the arches and hanging out in Moab, UT. I have dedicated tomorrow a little differently than most of my blogs thus far. And there will be lots of pictures!
Thanks for reading :) and thanks for our support!!

Day 5: Luann Keyes

Today we ran from Cedar City, UT to Bicknell, UT. The cliffs/rock formations in Utah are amazing! Like every other day thus far I felt truly blessed to be capable of running through the beautiful scenes. We saw cows standing on the side of the road and running along side our van! Here's some of the pictures from my run today:

Beautiful :) 

So many beautiful cliffs

A cow keeping an eye out for us as we ran around a bend

Me and my running partner, Elizabeth

Today I was in Van #2. We each ran 12 miles; that makes my total 77 miles in 5 days. After running today I still felt like I had more in me! But for a few days we are going to be running 12 miles each so we see if everyone feels more comfortable running that instead of 16 a day. Our bodies will enjoy the little bit of a break as we try and become more conditioned. The weather today was really dry. I was told that it wont change for a while and since we have a while left in this dry heat I got myself some really good moisturizer tonight at the supermarket. The family that cooked us dinner said that their supermarket closes at 8! The mom was so nice and took me, Susan, and Elizabeth to get some items so we would make it there. If we had walked from the Middle School we are staying at then we wouldn't have made it in time! 
The Crane family is a part of the local cross country team. They got donations from other teammates and came up to the school and cooked us spaghetti. It was amazing! As all the food is during this trip :) 
They also brought us milk and breakfast items, water bottles, and some sunscreen! We are so blessed to have supporters wherever we go. The Mom said that their family is heavily affected by cancer and they are also very involved with running. She was glad that they got the chance to come meet our team and help out. Tomorrow morning her and the older daughter are meeting us at 530 and they are going to run some of the first half with us!! 

Today was dedicated to Luann Keyes.
Luann and her husband Terry hosted me and Susan last night. I mentioned them in yesterday's blog but didn't yet tell you part of their story. Luann is a two time breast cancer survivor. She was diagnosed first in 2008. She had gone in for her normal annual check up and they had discovered a lump in her left breast. She said that her doctor had asked to do follow up examinations and she thought nothing of it at the time. Even up to the day she walked in and was told she had breast cancer she was not in the slightest bit concerned. Cancer hadn't even crossed her mind. Luann then scheduled a lumpectomy and began chemo treatment. She said that the first treatment went well and she had thought to herself that it was easy! Not a problem... However, after the fourth treatment of "Devil's Blood"(she says it's called that because its a red liquid) she got deathly ill. The night after the treatment, her temperature spiked and wouldn't come back down. She went to the ER around 10pm with a temperature of 103 and wasn't admitted into a room until almost 2am! Luann said that everyone who came to visit had to be completely covered. Her blood cell count was so low - zero white blood cells and very little red ones. 
Sitting there at their counter listening to her story brought tears to my eyes. Luann told Susan and I how she felt when she was laying there in the hospital. She said she felt so awful that at that point she didn't care if she lived or died. She was done fighting and just wanted everything to end. Her health improved and she went home Sunday evening. Her treatments were all pushed back due to the hospital incident. Luann said that in the summer of 2009 she was finished and felt well. 
At a 6 month check up her doctor called with a concern again. The cancer was back. Same breast. Luann said she had enough the first time around and was not going to go through it again. She told us that she would never wish chemo even on her worst enemy. She decided to have a double mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. It has now been 5 years since treatment began for Luann and the Keyes family. 

Susan and I both ran for Mrs. Keyes today. We had invited her and Mr. Keyes both to the dedication circle but Mrs. Keyes couldnt make it because it was so early in the morning. They told us that the one thing cancer leaves behind forever is the feeling of being lethargic. And Susan and I kept her up very late talking. This morning Terry said that he was impressed his wife stayed up so late. 
Thank you to the Keyes family for welcoming us into your home. We run for people like you. I do hope to stay in touch. I will be praying for your family. Thanks for the support and well wishes for our trip! 

Day 4: Josie Toochin

Today we ran from Ely, NV to Cedar City, UT.
I ran another 16 miles! Whooo!! So my total is now at 65 miles in 4 days!

example scenery pic from outside Ely, NV

Today's scenery was similar to yesterday's flat desert-y segments and some uphill mountains. I think they were the back end of the Sierra Nevada mountain range. I was in Van #1 again. Our first 40 miles covered the mountain and our second 40 miles was more flat. It was a good way to end our 16 miles. However, today was a really rough day for most of our runners. One was too injured to run so our van had to cut out one of the groups in the rotation and his partner joined other pairs to finish up her running. Only 4 people out of our 10 person group finished the full 16! The other van (with 11 people) cut everyones miles to 14 instead of finishing the 16.... Nicole and Kim L. are going to talk to our head person in Baltimore and see about moving the mileage down to 12-13; that's what we all originally had signed up for.
Tomorrow we may be running less than 16 miles to see how it goes. As a team, we just want to stay healthy. If putting our bodies through 96 miles a week is making runners unable to perform then we have to change it so that we will make it to Baltimore.

Today there were a lot of exciting things that happened too! I hit above 60 miles :) (65 is my total now), we saw a coyote and some antelopes! There were many signs warning drivers of roaming cattle and some hitchhiker prohibited zones....
We also crossed into UTAH!!!! Two states complete! And we crossed into Mountain Time! There's 4 time zones in America and we have completely crossed one :)

After our running, we went to the aquatics center in Cedar City, UT. We got to shower!!! (since i hadnt in over 48 hours) and i got to float around their lazy river with Molly and Kim B. and sit in the hot tub for like 5 minutes. Then we all dispersed to go stay at houses in town. Susan and I are staying the night at Mr. and Mrs. Keye's house tonight. They had dinner ready and waiting for us when we arrived! It was so so yummy! Angel hair pasta, broccoli, chicken, and Alfredo sauce with asparagus and salad. Then they took us out to see their town and showed us the cancer center here and told us all about the special days cedar city has. They took us to a great shaved ice shack too. You'll hear more about them tomorrow! 

Today's run was dedicated by Bradley Baskir to Josie Toochin. 

These are the word's he had to share about Josie:

"Josie was one of most selfless people I have ever known. Everything she did was done with the widest of smiles and the greatest amount of warmth. One of the kindest, most gentle people I have ever come into contact with - not a single bad bone in her body. Completely unprompted, Josie threw me an amazing high school graduation brunch, for which I am forever grateful. If I can be half the mensch Josie was, I know I'll have done something right in my life." - Bradley Baskir

We all know people like Josie. The one person that always has a smile on their face and is always there to make our day a little brighter. The fact that Josie was diagnosed with cancer and could still be that smiley friend that lifted other's spirits shows us how we need to really appreciate the good things (including health) that we are blessed with. This run is definitely making me realize that more and more. So here's to Josie - thanks for pushing me on to finish my miles today!