Janine’s Story

 

I am a Mom first and forever.  I have 4 great kids. Morgan who is 8 is very special to us, she being our first and having a few disabilities makes being a mom hard, fun, rewarding, inspirational but I say this with all sincerity we were very blessed to have her.  Matthew is our sports fanatic 6 year old and then we have a set of wild, fun-loving, curious and mostly happy twin 3 year old girls.  I am a limo driver, short order cook, part time mommy nurse, school and MOMs Club volunteer, Memory Keeper (scrap booker), Wife, and let’s not forget “Domestic Goddess”.  Now let’s add in my new part time job 5 nights a week AND now I am embarking on this Cause Runner adventure with my close friend, confidant, and support system.  I can’t begin to tell you what the last year has been like. 

 

 

 

2008 Disney Half-Marathon

 

Jill’s Story

I am a Mom to three beautiful children, Halle (almost 8), Neeley (4), and Ben (2).  I am also a wife, to the best husband (John), a daughter, a friend, a volunteer at my children’s school, a Board Member with Challenged Athletes, a RC Intern and a graduate student at the University of Florida.  GO GATORS!             

I am working on my PhD in Rehabilitation Counseling.  I began this PhD journey, because our oldest daughter was born with a rare chromosome deletion and life threatening immune deficiency.   Halle has taught me to appreciate life daily and has given me a desire to help other families  facing life altering challenges with their own children.  Now as I head into my final year of grad school, all my children have been diagnosed with medical issues…Neeley has a serious peanut allergy and mild immune deficiency and Ben has been diagnosed with a similar immune deficiency as Halle.

I was overwhelmed to say the least my first year of school – commuting 2 hours each way – Ben a baby with serious medical issues, 911 calls, pneumonia, home IV antibiotics, infectious disease brought in, and now two kids on monthly infusions for an immune deficiency (Ben and Halle).  I needed help and fast…

In the Spring of 2007, I sought sanity through running and friendship.  I enlisted Janine to start training with me for the Disney Half Marathon.  We both have kids who were born with disabilities, we both needed to be in better shape and we both needed a break from our lives – even if it was for a couple hours a week.  Every Saturday and Sunday we would go for our runs together.  We would share our struggles and joys, bitch about life, laugh and sometimes cry, and always stop for a latte at Starbucks …through running we formed a friendship I will always treasure.  We just “get” each other.  As we began to enter races, we found an inner joy in giving back to organizations that helped others.  The Jingle Bell Run at the zoo for arthritis – her daughter has JRA.  The Cancer run at Moffitt – my mom is survivor and Janine’s sister-in-law passed from this disease.  It was healing for me to Run for a Purpose – to give to a Cause that meant something to me.  Out of our friendship formed our cathartic business to help others find purpose in their own exercise.  We hope you too can find your purpose through this exciting sport called – running – yes, that includes walking. Become an athlete with us.

2008 Gasparilla 5K

Tampa, Florida

First 5K Under 30 Minutes

 

 

 

Date:March 2007     Setting:Preschool Parking Lot.

 

Jill asks, “Hey you really like Disney don’t you?”

“Of course, who doesn’t (well my husband for one)?” 

She then looked at me in all sincerity and asked, “Will you train for the Disney Half Marathon with me?  It’s not until January 2008?”  (all innocent and smiling).

 

Here’s the kicker and what got me – she says, “After my girlfriend had a baby she trained for the marathon and lost ALL of her baby weight. ”Who’s not going to sign on with that guarantee?  I said, “I’ll sign up but I am not making any promises.”  We ran a lot, sweat a lot , bonded over coffee and came up with the Cause Runners during our 2008 Disney Half Marathon journey.

Now fast forward a year later:  I am still the weight I was when I started running a year ago BUT I feel great and I do have muscle tone in my legs.  I still want to know what Jill’s friend’s secret is maybe she didn’t eat boxes of cookies in one sitting or have ice cream nightly.  Any way as you see ANYONE can start to run for exercise/fun and even run a few 5k events for people who can’t and what greater way to impact a charity from the inside out.  Make it personal , step up and start training.  I will promise you this, you will find your runs as a time to reconnect with yourself and that will make everyone else in your life HAPPY, including YOU!

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