"We will be running as we have before"

I run as part of team DetermiNation

When I was in 7th grade I was on the cross country and track teams.  These experiences would good in their own right, but not in a way that made me want to continue the following year.  My preteen self definitely didn't think I would ever be part of a running team again.  Soccer was more my thing.

Over a decade later I inadvertently proved by younger self wrong.  I say inadvertently because I feel I joined a running team without really thinking of it that way.  I signed up for the Chicago Marathon DetermiNation program in the spring of 2011 and focused on it as a way to honor those in my life affected by cancer.  Upon starting this endeavor, I was set up with a online training program, was part of a marathon class, and ran with a running group.  I was surrounded by a great group of others who were running, but it wasn't really a team.

A couple days before the Chicago Marathon, my family and I traveled into the city to face the craziness that is the marathon expo and attend the DetermiNation dinner.

I entered the dinner feeling like an independent runner, one of the 45,000 signed up to run 26 miles through Chicago.  I left the dinner feeling like a person on a team, a valuable member of a 700-person crew who collectively had thousands of reasons to be running and had raised over $1 million in support of the American Cancer Society.

Through my experiences with Relay For Life I had felt a connection with friends and classmates that comes from having had some sort of exposure to cancer and its effects.  I never imagined I could experience a similar connection with people I was meeting for the first time, but being part of team DetermiNation did just that.

At dinner I heard others' stories and reasons to run, some of which were very similar to mine.  On race day, I met other DetermiNation runners before and after the race and was cheered on by supporters I had never met just because of the blue singlet I was wearing.  In seeing that DetermiNation blue we instantly knew something about each other.  It eased the sharing of stories and brought to the surface a commonality we otherwise would have never discovered.

I feel honored and proud

...to be a part of team DetermiNation
...to have run with that team in Chicago and be preparing for Twin Cities
...to be making my miles more meaningful 
...to wear my singlet proudly during many races and training runs
...to share my story
...to have watched fellow DetermiNation teammates take on a new challenge in honor of those they love

I run and so does the ACS

In 1985, Dr. Gordon Klatt, a colorectal surgeon, walked and ran around a track in Tacoma, Washington for 24 hours.  He invited friends to join him along his journey in exchange for donations to the American Cancer Society.  In the process he raised $27,000 for the ACS and inspired an event that would be come to known as Relay For Life.  (for more details about the history, click here).

Relay For Life grew in the decades that followed.  The overnight event brings communities together to celebrate cancer survivors, to remember those who have been lost, and to promote ways to fight back against this disease.  IT is now held in every state across the country and elsewhere outside of the US.  It's a powerful event in which participants form teams and take turns walking a track all night.  The track is lit through the darkness by luminarias, candlelit bags in honor of those who've been affected by cancer.  Various activities and entertainment are planned and money is raised to support the mission of the ACS.  Visit www.relayforlife.org to learn more about events near you.

DetermiNation started in the 90s as a program called Charity Runner.  The American Cancer Society made it's first running presence at the Chicago Marathon.  In exchange for their runners of all abilities fundraising for their organization, the ACS provided training and race support.  Over the coming years the program would change names and expand to races around the country while maintaining its supportive partnership with its participants.

DetermiNation is truly a means through which to make your miles more meaningful.  It fosters a memorable running experience that allows runners to honor loved ones and support an organization that does so much to advance cancer research, education, and support.  If you have a personal connection to cancer, I encourage you to consider doing your next, or first, race with DetermiNation.  Find out more about how you can at http://go.acsdetermination.org/.