Running the Boston Marathon for brain cancer awareness
When Jessica Brovold applied for a spot in the Boston Marathon as a charity runner, she didn't worry too much about the fact that she'd never run more than a mile in her life.
Then she got picked to go.
But any fear or apprehension about tackling the world's oldest annual marathon, now in its 119th year, was outweighed by the chance for Brovold to raise money and awareness for brain cancer in honor of her 6-year-old daughter, Kallie.
Kallie was diagnosed with a grade III brain tumor called Anaplastic Astocytoma in 2013, when she was four years old. Two years and two surgeries later, she's on the road to recovery. The Brovold family spent three months in Boston, where Kallie received proton beam radiation treatment at Mass General hospital, following a month at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.
They were fortunate enough to receive a free apartment from a charity housing company called Home Away Boston, and after the Brovolds returned home, Jessica saw a Facebook post offering two spots on the Home Away Boston marathon team for charity runners. She signed up, got picked, and after raising over $6,900, will be on the starting line Monday in Hopkinton.
"I just figured it was the least I could do after all they'd done for us," Brovold says of signing up to run the 26.2 miles. "I didn't think I'd actually get to go. It's a little scary, but I'm excited. I probably won't run the whole way, but I really want to finish, and I'll do my best. It's more than a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity – nobody really gets to do something like this. I'm really honored to do this."
In addition to raising nearly $7,000, mostly through social media, Brovold will dedicate each of the 26 miles to a brain cancer patient. Obviously, the family met many families in similar situations during Kallie's treatment.
"I wanted a way to connect as many people to this as I could," Brovold says, "and I didn't want it just to be kids. It's affected adults, too, and I've connected with so many of those people. You really form a connection with them, and I'm happy to make them a part of this."
Brovold's first mile will be dedicated to a young girl from Sioux Falls named Reece, while the final mile will be dedicated to Kallie. Brovold's longest training run leading up to Boston has been 12 miles, so honoring her daughter with the final mile is a motivational tool as much as anything. As emotional as Brovold figures to be during the race, she's also reminding herself to enjoy the experience and push herself physically. She's enjoyed the training and plans to continue running after Boston.
She'll have a large cheering section of friends and family, including, of course, Kallie, a perpetually smiling, affectionate, heart-melting youngster. The last time Kallie was in Boston she couldn't walk or talk. Now she goes to therapy twice a week at Lifescape rehabilitation, where she's slowly but surely regaining her motor skills. Brovold said doctors are hopeful she can make a full recovery, but what she's already accomplished after two risky surgeries is fairly miraculous.
During a therapy session this week, Brovold asked her young daughter, 'Where are we going this weekend?', and Kallie smiled and shrieked "Boston!"
"I don't know how much of this she understands," Brovold admits. "She knows I've been running and we're going to Boston and she's super excited. It'll be emotional – she wasn't walking or talking when we were there before, so you never knew how much of it she was taking in. But I think it's going to be a special weekend.
"I always wanted to run a marathon," Brovold adds. "I never thought it'd be Boston and I never thought it would be in these kind of circumstances, but I'm looking at it as a great opportunity. So many people came out of the woodwork to help us, and this is just a small way of trying to do the same for others."