Spotlight - Jane Stoddard

 I am running to raise funds to find a cure for Alzheimer's Disease.

On March 12th, my father lost his more than a decade long battle with Alzheimer's disease.  During his final month, I was helpless and did the only thing I could think of to honor him and to help brace myself for the inevitable loss to come - I applied to run the NY Marathon in his name for the Alzheimer's Association.

Less than two weeks after his passing, I found out I received an entry.  On November 1st, I will be running the marathon in his name celebrating his triumphant run of the same race 20 years ago. 

My father was an avid runner for the majority of his life who grew up in Boston, went to college at Northeastern before graduate school at UPenn.  Running marathons became a monumental part of his life in his 50s and 60s, traveling to Colorado, California, Arizona, Las Vegas, Florida, New York, etc. to run a race in as many states as he could.

He inspired my sister and I to run, register for races and meet him to go running. Even in his 60s, his pace was always faster than mine. I distinctly remember our last runs together with his illness looming in the background, he still loved to go out for a run.  And he was ALWAYS faster than me, regardless of age.  As I begin to train for November's race, I remember vividly travelling to NYC for the 1995 marathon to cheer him on during a bitter cold day.  20 years later, I hope I can do his record justice this November by running with grace, dignity and drive. There is no doubt he will be with me every step of the way, cheering me on and pushing me to the finish line.

 

Nothing would make me happier than to help raise the funds and awareness to find a cure for this crippling disease by running this year's NY Marathon in his name. I hope you will join me in honoring his life and making any size contribution you can to help get a step closer to a cure.