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| Boston Marathon Finisher Certificate |
“Everyone has a story, it’s what you make out of it. You can
feel sorry for yourself or you can pick-up and use it as motivation.” –
Esubalow Truneh
I got my Boston Marathon finisher certificate from the
Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A). last week.
It brought back lots of good memories.
It was an emotional day for me to come back and support the people of
Boston after the 2013 bombing. It was a chance for some closure for both me and
my guide Cheryl Kearney after being stopped just short of the finish line.
On race day we were all Boston Strong. The athletes took
back the marathon for the cities along the route and the people of Boston. Even though we could not undo the damage from
the attack, we could run to show our support. We showed the world that even in
the worst of circumstances you can react with grace, dignity and love.
It is hard to imagine
ever running a race with bigger crowds or ones that cheered more loudly than
the fans did that day. It truly is a
special event and one I have been so proud to have run three times. I’ve stored
memories to last a lifetime in my heart.
I had the best of my three Boston Marathon runs last year.
My finishing time of 4 hr. 51 minutes does not really tell the whole
story. I finished 5th in the
Mobility Impaired Division in a year when the number of participants was
greatly expanded. My coach Heather Haviland had me so well prepared. Marathons
are never easy and Boston is a tough course. Still my legs felt better in
training, during the race and after than I have in years. We completely changed how I was training and
it paid off. I laughed when I saw the
race goal she set for me, but I hit it exactly.
So now I have a decision to make. Do I return to run once again? My heart tells
me yes, but my head tells me it may be time to make another decision. There are many things to consider.
I love everything about the Boston Marathon. The fans make you feel like an elite athlete.
They cheer for you like you are the first person they’ve seen, even if they’ve
been standing and cheering for hours. Whole families line up to cheer and hand
out food and water to runners.
When people in Boston see you wearing your Boston jacket,
they thank you for coming to the city and tell you they are glad you came. Church ladies knit scarves in your honor and
on race weekend give them to runners, wishing you courage and wrapping you in
love.
The Boston and Paris marathons are the only marathon I know
of with a Mobility Impaired Division. If
you provide medical proof of your condition and meet the strict time standard
you are accepted. No humiliating assessment and being told I am too strong or
not impaired enough.
We are scored in our own division, allowed guides and have a
separate packet pick-up. We are treated
like elite athletes. It has been a
chance to compete in one of the World’s premiere athletic events. Even as mobility impaired athlete it is not
easy to get into Boston. The six hour qualification time is tough for most
athletes with CMT to achieve. I am 1 hour and 10 minutes under the qualifying
time standard. That means if I return I
have a good chance of once again placing in the top three in the division.
It feels great to put on my Boston Marathon
jacket. Running Boston means respect from other athletes. It is a true achievement.
Running the event has been great for raising awareness of
CMT. Running this race has brought lots
of media attention to our cause. That interest has come even in years when I
was determined to run the race away from media attention. Participating in the
Boston Marathon is something many runners dream of but never achieve, so the
story of a physically challenged runner doing the event has been news worthy.
Running Boston has been great for fundraising as well. My first year I raised $10,000 for CMT
research. My worry is my friends and
family a getting a bit weary of me asking for money.
As hard as the training is, I really love the
preparation. I am at heart a long
distance runner. I love the peace and quiet of my long runs. I do them without music. It is a perfect time
to reflect. I often think about my work and writing. Some of my fondest memories are long runs on
crisp fall days, my feet crunching fallen leaves or on freshly fallen snow.
There is almost nothing more fun than doing a run as the snow is fallen or on
freshly fallen snow. I try to get out before the walks are shoveled. I can still remember my last long run before
Boston was in Marquette Michigan. There
was six inches of fresh powder snow on the bike path. I had a wonderful 16 mile along Lake Superior
under sunny blue skies. Just the kind of day that makes me glad I’m a runner.
Training for a marathon takes time. It takes time away from
projects like promoting my book, writing my blog and managing Team CMT. I think sometimes that my time may be better
spent doing something else. Training
takes time away from friends and family. Training for Boston would me once
again giving up lots of other important opportunities to train.
Training for another Boston marathon means a constant fight
against the injuries that will come during the training. Every time I’ve run
Boston I’ve acquired chronic injuries to both my ankles. I have an injury to my
right ankle that has not healed since my last Boston. Can I even get through
the training to prepare for the race.
Training for another
Boston marathon means countless visits to the chiropractor, physical and
massage therapists. Do I want to put
myself through that? Is my time and money better spent doing other things or
preparing for other races?
I feel like I am standing at a fork in the road. By April when the marathon takes place I will
have qualified for the Paratriathlon National Championships and World
Championship competitions in Duathlon and Aquathon. I have to wonder if competing again in Boston
will harm my performance in these events. My CMT is progressing and doing
another marathon may not be a good idea. I may need to stop long distance
running to be able to continue to compete in triathlon. I may need to stop
doing marathons to be able to stay active at all. Both my coaches have told me
to give up running marathons. The
marathon distance is hard even for perfectly healthy athletes, much less one
with CMT. Running a race on a hilly
course like Boston really takes its toll.
If I don’t run Boston, I might never be able to return. I
can use my qualifying time from last year’s race to run this one. If I don’t
run that means running another marathon to qualify and then running Boston in
the same year. That is probably more
than my body can handle.
Less than 1 percent of Americans have ever run a
marathon. When you run the Boston
marathon you are part of a very exclusive fraternity. I am not sure I am quite ready to check out
yet. It may take as much courage to decide not to run as it has to prepare and
run my three Boston marathon races.
Registration opens on September 8th and I a lot
to think about before then. I know I
want to stay as active as possible. I want to keep raising awareness of CMT and
funds for CMT related programs and research.
Will there be another Boston Marathon in my future? Even I don’t know
the answer yet.
One thing I do know for sure. I have a story to tell. My goal in running the Boston Marathon was to tell the story of those affected with CMT. I ran for those that can't run. Whether I run Boston again or compete at a World Championship as a triathlete, I will do it to tell our story, because telling our story is the first step to treatments and a cure.
 |
| Author competing for Team USA at PATCO 2014 |
Chris
Wodke
Founder
& Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com
Chris is
a triathlete and long distance runner. She is a three time participant of the
Boston Marathon. She was the 2012
National Champion Paratriathlon Open Division. In 2013 she qualified as a member
of the Team USA Duathlon Team and was eligible to compete in 2014 at the Age
Group World Duathlon Sprint Championship in Pontevedre Spain . She chose instead to represent the U.S. as a paratriathlete at the Pan-American
Triathlon Championship in Dallas ,
Texas
She is
the author of the book, “Running for My Life” that details her experience as a
CMT affected athlete.
Team CMT
is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure
for CMT. We have 152 members in 30 states. We also have members in Australia , Canada ,
Vietnam , Turkey , Finland
and Iran .
If you wish to join us visit our web site; www.run4cmt.com
or www.hnf-cure.org
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.
Additional Link
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Marathon Bombing
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