For most people, running a marathon is the culmination of months of physically and psychologically grueling training. But for Sarah Shay, running the Austin Marathon on Feb. 14 will be also be a triumph over grief and adversity.
Shay, a 33-year-old single mother, is running the race in honor of her brother, Ryan, who collapsed and died while trying out for the US Men’s Olympic Marathon team in New York City in November 2007, reports Austin360.com. He was just 28 years old and newly married when he died, a nine-time NCAA All-American and one of the most decorated athletes in Notre Dame University history. As it turned out, he had an undiagnosed enlarged heart and an irregular heartbeat.
“After my brother died, it was a dark time,” Shay tells Austin360. When her brother died, her marriage was also ending and she had a two-year-old son to take care of.
Shay, who served in the US Army for a year and certainly shares her brother’s perseverance, picked up running as a way to get in shape and to combat her grief. Then, after she ran the Austin Half Marathon last year, she was diagnosed with lupus, an autoimmune disorder, and stopped running.
But like a visitation, her brother appeared to her in a dream, urging her to keep going, and Shay found new resolve to run her first full marathon. She set a goal to raise $10,000 for the nonprofit Wounded Warriors Project, which offers injured veterans health care and counseling support. So far she’s raised more than $7,000.
The training hasn’t been easy for her since she works full time in addition to caring for her four-year-old son, but Shay says Ryan’s spirit has inspired her her to keep going. She manages her lupus by taking prescription vitamins, avoiding certain foods, and limiting sun exposure by training during the winter months.
“I’m not rich, and I’m not a Hollywood star,” she told Austin360. “This is a way to show that the average American can do something. If you’re just dedicated enough, you can reach out to others who need it.”
Photo courtesy of yoppy via Flickr.