Three Team CMT members Run Lakefront Marathon

" It's like tacking a PhD a the end of your name, getting married, having a baby, Your life will never again be quite the same, and regardless of what the future brings, you can look back and say, 'I finished a marathon.'"- Hal Higdon

Team CMT has three new members of the marathon finishers club. Robert Kearney, Cheryl Monnat and Kim Petak all finished the October 2011 Lakefront Marathon this afternoon.

I met all three at the start for a group photo. It was 41F and would climb to 67F by the race end. There was no wind and it was a perfect day for the race. Lakefront is flat with a couple of down hill portions for a fast course.  Kim finished under 4:00 at around 3:56. This was her first marathon in 20 years.

This was Roberts first marathon.  In March he was calling Cheryl and myself hard core for running the half marathon at Trailbreaker while he ran the 5K. Robert finished today in 4:18 and he is offically hard core.

Cheryl had a tough day. She and Robert ran together and they were cruising on a pace for Cheryl to qualify for Boston. At mile 14 her sciatic nerve got so painful she had to walk.  This injury just showed up on her last long run. She wasn't sure if she was even going to finish today. She tried stretching it out and ran and walked to finish sub 5 hrs at around 4:51.  She showed how tough she is today.  She will be doing the Marine Corp 10 K on October 31st.  She and Robert will be doing the Solar Eclipse Run next November in Port Arthur Australia.

It was a great day for me since I worked the finish line handing out medals and was able to see all three of them finish.  It was fun to watch a marathon instead of running one. It was really inspiring watching everyone finish. One woman who finished in just over five hours burst into tears she was so moved by her finish. Marathons are that tough and that emotional. She had me on the verge of tears as well. I cried when I finished my marathon in Madison that I dedicated to my mom.

Thanks Kim, Robert and Cheryl for running for Team CMT. I am so proud of all of you!

Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

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