Blogger Spotlight: Michelle Kennis and her NYC Marathon Run for Tuesday's Children

On November 6, 2016, Michelle Kennis


will be toeing the line of the New York City Marathon. She has a dream of running the 6 World Major Marathons. She has run Boston and Chicago and tried to enter New York City through the lottery system. Rather than wait to get in via the lottery, Michelle applied to 3 charities, all of whom said yes. In the wake of the Paris terrorist attacks and Sandy Hook as well as her own traumatic experience in Boston on 4/15/13, Michelle chose Tuesday's Children, a non profit established after 9/11 to care for communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss. From their website, "In partnership with experts from around the world and in collaboration with renowned facilitators and mental health professionals, Tuesday’s Children serves communities altered by an act of violence." They are an organization with an almost 15 year track record of helping communities and individuals heal in the wake of violence and are passionate and dedicated to addressing the needs for long term healing using ongoing program development and research to meet the long term community and individual needs of those affected by traumatic events.

From Michelle's fund raising page:

I am very excited to announce that I will be running the 2016 TCS NYC Marathon on November 6th! I have made the choice to raise funds for a charity whose mission is near and dear to my heart. I am running for Tuesday's Children which was formed in the aftermath of Tuesday, September 11, 2001, Tuesday's Children is a response and recovery organization that supports youth, families, and communities impacted by terrorism and traumatic loss.

After running my first marathon in Boston 2013 and not being able to finish due to acts of terror, it is my mission to help those who are impacted with traumatic events. I saw first hand how this event impacted so many lives including those who saw the raw scenes, those who were running, those who were watching, those tracking a runner and everyone worldwide. My family needed resources after what they went through while waiting for me at the finish line and Tuesday's Children is an organization that offers such vital services.

Please consider helping me on my mission of raising funds and awareness of this organization that has helped those cope with the unimaginable and unified those from all walks of life to help support one another. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. Spread the love, peace and support.

As Michelle explained to me when we met to talk about her passion to fund raise for Tuesday's Children, in addition to providing services to those impacted by traumatic events including emergency responders, they work to diminish violence and hate through prevention programs that build bridges of understanding and promote healing rather than feelings of estrangement and anger which can so often happen in the wake of a terrorist act.

Michelle has run several marathons and she will go the 26.2 distance through the 5 New York City boroughs on November 6th. The weather won't matter to her as she proved when she ran the 2015 Boston Marathon through cold rain and wind:



And she will go the distance to raise money for Tuesday's Children but she can't go it alone. She needs your help!

Please donate whatever you can to support Michelle's New York City Marathon run on 11/6 by following this link to her donation page.

To your health and wellness,
Mary

Running with Passion and Purpose

The rain changed over to snow. Wind gusts were gusting and Tom and I were deciding whether or not to 1. Go out on a run at all. 2. Just drive the course for the Boston Volvo Village 5K Road Race and run closer to home. 3. Drive the route and then run it.

We decided to at least drive the course of the race that I am running on Thanksgiving morning to benefit the Greater New England MS Society.
As the snow became more steady and was mixed with rain, as the winds picked up, something picked up inside of me and I told Tom that I had to get out there and get my run on today.

I thought about the veterans with MS that I worked with at the VA. Several of my friends live with the challenge of MS. My dear friend John Young is racing the New York City Marathon today. He is chasing the Unicorn hoping for a Boston Qualifier. I promised him that we would run together and I would be sending him energy while I was out on my run this morning. I thought of my friends running New York especially Amy Yok-Ming Wong race walking with Joyce Chu who lives with Parkinson's Disease. Joyce fell during her training and had surgery but she vowed that she would be out there for her final NYC Marathon running for Team Fox for research for Parkinson's Disease.

Living with a neuromuscular condition can really bite sometimes. I know how fortunate I am to be able to go out there and run. Was I going to let a little (okay well maybe a lot) of wind and snow and rain stop me from doing my run? Absolutely not! Fortunately Tom is as crazy as me and agreed to do the run with me.

I felt invigorated being out there in the driving snow. Fortunately, I had gone to Marathon Sports Brookline for warm weather gear. I especially love my Saucony gloves that convert to mittens. They're called glittens:



Last year we bought matching Janji hats because we believe in running for another and they keep us warm and dry:



I layered with my Sugoi pullover and running tights.

The snow pelted us in the face and our jackets were soaked before the one mile mark but there was no turning back. We braved the winds and the snow stopping for a moment in the bus stop shelters to catch our breath and hydrate. We tried to navigate puddles but since it had been raining since yesterday and leaves had stopped up drains there was no way around the puddles; sometimes splashing through an obstacle is the best way to go.

As I ran through puddles, as my hands were cold and at times the snow stung my eyes, I felt strong and determined to do this training run today. I was able to do it. My body was able to hold its temperature; pretty amazing given that with a spinal cord injury, it's been a challenge to regulate my thermostat. I loved the course which is relatively flat thank goodness.

I'm hoping that today's training run will inspire you to donate to my run to benefit those living with MS and to fund much needed research to find a cure for MS. I know that when we find the key to one neuromuscular condition, we open the door to discovery of treating other conditions.

Here is the link to my personal page. Any amount is greatly appreciated.

It's amazing what can happen when you run with passion and purpose!

ps John Young got his BQ today!


The first 7 years of my healing odyssey are chronicled in Coming Home: A Memoir of Healing, Hope and Possibility available on Amazon. I donate 50% of royalty payments to The One Fund Boston to help survivors and their families who were affected by the tragic events of 4/15/13.



My 2nd book, "Journey Well," is coming soon. 50% of book proceeds will be donated to AccesSportAmerica to help them continue their life changing programs: