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Dad and I in one of his last races, look at
the sprint to the
finish proof that
Alzheimer's can't take everything
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I am not a runner. In fact, I hated running. My Dad and one of
my sisters (I'm the youngest of six) were the runners of the family. I never
really got it. All that changed in 2007 when my Dad was diagnosed with
Alzheimer’s Disease. In an effort to cope with the news, I decide to run the
2009 Boston Marathon. I figured that I would pick up the baton from my dad, or
fast Eddie as they used to call him.
He started running in the late 70’s and continued to race up
until 2011 when the disease finally forced him to stop. I always wondered what
the hell made him get up at 5am every morning and go running. Was an ugly race
T-shirt really worth all that effort? To this day, he has hundreds of T-shirts
he collected from all his races.
So I figured if he could run 7 NYC Marathons I could run Boston
in his honor. I still play Hockey a few days a week and figured I could whip
myself into marathon shape in 4-5 months. Wrong! I ended up blowing out my
Peroneal Tendon at mile 22(yes after the Hills) and was carted off in an
ambulance to Newton Wellesley Hospistal while my parents, wife and kids waited
at the finish line. I figured my brief marathon career was over.
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Dad rockin' short shorts
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Then in the spring of 2010 my Dad started to have trouble in his
races. He was getting confused on the courses. So I dug out my
running shoes and started to run again so that I could race with him and help
him navigate the courses. He was 76 at this point and the disease was starting
to slow him down physically as well. I did a bunch of races with him, right by
his side, adding to his T-shirt and medal collection(full disclosure the 70
plus category is not all that competitive). An odd thing started to happen
during these races, I actually started to like running. It was probably the sight
of my Dad(76 and battling Alzheimer's) smiling as he blew by people much
younger than him.
I kept running with him right up until the disease forced him to
stop racing later that fall. At that point I decided to give Boston another
shot, for him and for all the others that lose so much to this dreaded disease.
And in the spring of 2011, I crossed the finish line in Boston with my dad
waiting for me at mile 26.2. Both the training process(with the Alzheimers
Asscociations Boston Chapter) and the race itself was an amazing experience.
So what’s next? NYC. It was the marathon my dad did 7 times so I
figure it only makes sense that it’s my next marathon. Unfortunately, he won’t
be at the finish line this time(we had to put him in a home this summer and there
is a chance he might not make it to November) but I will hopefully bring him a
new NYC medal and ugly T-shirt to add to his collection. And for that I love
running.
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| New Clipping from the mid 80s featuring local marathoners,
notice the ugly race tee |
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