Runnin' Down A Dream
For Lee Ann.
It was a cloudy day, the snow beat down, I had the TV on, I was lounging. The opposite of the first lyrics in the title track of this blog.
Fortunately, on that same gloomy late-December day, I saw a post for the “I’m Completing 62 Miles for St. Jude in January” fundraising campaign on Facebook.
My initial thought was, I can do that, and my next was, I bet I can run it. So I am.
Today, I am 27 miles into the challenge and have raised $560 for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital based on the assumption that I can run 62 miles in 31 days.
Unlike most runners, I prefer running on a treadmill to running outside. It’s also a somewhat newish interest for me, considering I didn’t start running until I purchased a treadmill shortly before the pandemic began in February of 2020 (thank you, universe, for such serendipitous timing).
Due to severe shin splints from running on pavement and the fact that my ears are shaped so oddly they can’t seem to hold any brand of earbud for more than 75 seconds, for a long time, I thought of myself as a non-runner since I hate doing it outside. Then I thought, hey, running is running even if it is on a treadmill with a bluetooth speaker, and since it’s now my favorite form of cardio I guess I am a runner, so I ran an outdoor 5K (with earbuds flopping out of my ears every other minute) in 2021 just to prove it. And prove myself as a runner on my treadmill is exactly what I’ve been after ever since.
Aside from the personal challenge, however, I wasn’t entirely sure “why” I decided to sign up to run these 62 miles on behalf of St. Jude until my son’s eleventh birthday. On December 30, as he and his friend broke the bank at the bowling alley arcade and my husband and I bowled a few games on our own, a family of five prepared to bowl on the lane directly next to ours. One of the bowlers, a young woman in a wheelchair, needed assistance each time it was her turn. My initial (ugly, yet thankfully, inward) reaction was frustration at the time it took her family to assist her with each roll, which involved using space in both their lane and ours to maneuver her chair and the bowling assistance ramp so that she could (rightfully) participate alongside them.
Then it hit me: Kate, you’re being an asshole (even if it is inward frustration). My child, a healthy and able-bodied little boy, is moving about freely and enjoying his birthday. Save for a few ear troubles early in his life and a now manageable ADHD diagnosis, he’s perfectly fine. I have never had to endure the anguish or uncertainty of a childhood disease or the management of medical equipment. I have never experienced a lengthy hospital stay with my child or worried about his mortality as it relates to a medical condition. My family has been truly fortunate in this regard, and I am a total fool for taking it for granted.
So instead of fussing and sighing and making a big deal about her bowling with her family, I sat back, drank my beer, patiently waited my turn, smiled often and sincerely at who I believe were her parents, and decided this would be the reason why I complete the 62-mile challenge: because I can and because, if he wanted to, my son could, too.
Founded by actor Danny Thomas in 1955 who, years earlier, promised to build a shrine to the patron saint of hopeless causes for helping him to find his way, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is dedicated to curing catastrophic diseases in children, regardless of race, religion, or financial status.
Since then, treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20% to more than 80%. St. Jude also freely shares the discoveries they make, and every child saved at St. Jude means doctors and scientists worldwide can use that knowledge to save thousands more children. What’s more, families never receive a bill from St. Jude for treatment, travel, housing, or food because, as the good folks at St. Jude rightfully believe, all a family should worry about is helping their child live.
And now, with support and oversight from the American Lebanese Syrian Associated Charities (ALSAC), also founded by Thomas, whose sole purpose is to raise funds for the support of St. Jude, hundreds of millions of dollars have been raised annually through benefits and solicitation drives just like the one I’m participating in now.
So here I am, a mere 7 days into the challenge, and I can say with full confidence and admiration for the medical and administrative staff at St. Jude and the many families who have benefited from the work they do, I am honored to be even a small part of such an important and meaningful cause.
All contributions made to my fundraising page and the many fundraising pages just like mine will benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, and I encourage you to donate here.
Finally, St. Jude, thank you for your belief in impossible causes; your belief in families; your belief in healthy children; your belief in equal access to healthcare; and your belief in ordinary people just like me. Rest assured that every dollar I raise adds fuel to my desire to run down this dream on behalf of those who can’t but who someday will. Pray for us.
Title Track: “Runnin’ Down a Dream,” Tom Petty. Listen here.
