Another year to live and give!

By Ginger

December 2011 was an amazing time. Darrel and Ginger participated in their first half marathon (13.1 miles). It wasn’t just to run or get into shape or even to check off another item on their bucket list. It was for a cause. A life changing cause, to raise money for the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society to fight blood cancers. They raised a little over $3000 thanks to many of you. The money goes to finding treatments, cures, and financially helping those families with expenses that are in the battle.

Darrel lost his mom, Pat, to colon cancer 27 years ago, his grandmother to lymphoma in 2000 and Ginger lost her stepdad, Tom, to brain, bone and lung cancer 2 years ago. Ginger’s stepmom, Vivian, was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma 9 years ago. Darrel is also a survivor of melanoma cancer 15 years out. Cancer is no stranger to their family. I’m sure many of you have similar stories.

 

Once we got involved with Team in Training, the fundraising arm of the Leukemia, Lymphoma Society, we began hearing stories all around us of people touched by the disease, mostly children. Our hearts were broken by young parents sharing their stories of their brave children and the battle they are in. Many children have went on to be with Jesus. Brave is the word we hear many of them say to describe their little ones. This experience has increased our prayer life over our own four grandchildren. This disease often comes quietly, unsuspectedly.

As I, Ginger was running last years event in Dallas something wonderful happened. I felt so close to my stepdad. It was as if he was right there cheering me on. When I got so tired, hurting all over and wanted to quit, I remembered being by his bedside and his fight to never give up fighting cancer. This was a healing after his death that I never expected.

Last year we also ran in honor of June ( a friends mother that was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphcytic Leukemia (CCL) after we joined. She is doing very well now.

A diagnosis of leukemia, lymphoma, myeloma or myelodysplastic syndrome brings daily challenges. The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) is the world’s largest voluntary health organization dedicated to funding blood cancer research, education and patient services. LLS is committed to providing information and support to people living with these cancers and to the health professionals involved in their care.

Our race this year is in San Antonio, Texas. It is called the Hero-thon. It is the first race of this magnitude that LLS has put on. Helping others is what it’s all about. That is why we run!

If you would like to help by making a donation, the easiest way is on our website: http://pages.teamintraining.org/ntx/herosa13/BrooksRunTheRace

or you can mail it to us:

3426 Lillie Street Sachse, TX 75048

Checks made out to: The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society 

Lastly, you can join TNT in your area and run.

Thank you all so much and God Bless you!

Darrel and Ginger Brooks

Please Visit our Fundraising Page...

Runs with the Grandkids

We did 2 runs with Caleb and Chloe this year. It was a blast!!! Here are some photo highlights.

Rock-the-Block: (5/19/12)

Labor of Love (9/3/12)

Dallas Rock'n'Roll-30 yrs.of Adventure!

‎30 years ago today I married the love of my life and started this great adventure. We started our adventure hand in hand and I look forward to the next 30 yrs. hand in hand. I love you Ginger! Happy 30th anniversary!!!

Dallas Rock-n-Roll

I'm not sure if we were caught up in the hype of our first Full Marathon or it was a moment of temporary insanity.

While we were picking up our race packets for our first Full Marathon we also signed up for our second Half Marathon. The issue being it's less than 4 weeks away. We ran the full on 2/26/12 and now we've committed to a half on 3/25/12!

We weren't taking in account for injuries or recovery. We didn't know The Cowtown would take such a toll on our bodies. In fact we had talked about being in the Dallas Rock-n-Roll strictly because of the date it will be held on.

We will be celebrating our 30th Wedding Anniversary on 3/27/12 and we wanted to do something very special. We didn't have the money to go on our Dream Alaskan Cruise. We didn't have the money to to fly to California and retrace our Honeymoon trip up the coastline towns. We really didn't have the money to travel anywhere BUT we could enter a local race and get a medal that we could always remember as our 30th anniversary race (not everyone can say they did a half marathon on their 30th anniversary!).

Here we go again, half crazy, sentimental, in love and still having FUN!!!

1st Full Marathon

The Cowtown Marathon 2012 was not only our first Full Marathon it was probably the hardest 8 hrs of my life (actually 7:52:11). Ginger compared it to natural child birth...(I'll take her word on that) but I will say she went through the "Transitional Phase" in similar fashion (except this time she made phone calls to tattle on what I was making her do, even though the whole thing was her idea).






The day started off like any other race day, we had set our clothes out the night before.






We arrived early. Did some people watching...all types at these events. We settled into our corral in plenty of time for the gun. (I think Ginger said there were about 25,000 runners.)

The gun sounded and we started to slowly walk to the start line...15 minutes later and "we're off".









We wound through business districts, old neighborhoods, downtown but the coolest place was the Ft. Worth Stock Yards.














At one point there were runners as far as you could see...

After a few hours we came to the "slit" this is where the "half crazies" go one way and the "crazies and ultra crazies" go the other way.

Then it got real lonely...














At mile 13.1 we crossed a timing mat, I heard a "beep" and the guy had the nerve to say "only 13.1 to go" (I'm not sure if those were his exact words but those were the words I heard). Now I'm thinking if I were doing the half I would be drinking some coffee having some real food while putting my aching feet up... But NO now I have to do a second Half Marathon without a rest. Ginger's still going strong at this point.








I'll fast forward to mile 18...the trail pickup and a Police car fall in behind us...this puts the pressure on "we're in last place". Ginger is starting to have a lot of pain and our pace is slowing. We had almost caught up to another runner but when he saw us and all the flashing lights behind us...he took off.





Mile 19 and we got to get off road and ditch the trail vehicles. Just before that though we stopped at a Boy Scout water stop and one of the boys said very excitedly, "I got some good news and some bad news, I get to go home but you don't"...I was very happy for him after the awkward silence since his comment. Back to the trail...


Ginger began to politely ask to quit and that I could finish and get the medal for both of us. I was not as polite when I reminded her this was all her idea and that a marathon was not on my 'Bucket List'.

We caught up to the runner in the red shirt, the one we had chased earlier. He was quite a character and all his stories kept Ginger's mind off her pain for a few miles...










After mile 20 Ginger was in a huge amount of pain and I was having to talk her into each block. She began to call people and "tattle" to them about how I was "making her do this". I tried telling her she would have to walk back to the car anyway and she said she had already made arrangements with the tail vehicle to catch a ride and follow me in. After a short discussion on how that was not an option she made another call to our Team in Training Coach David. As she was speaking to him I could see 2 people walking towards us, as they got closer I could see it was Coach David and Landon (his son). Ginger was so involved in the phone conversation she didn't know he was there until he grabbed her arm.

Coach David and Landon began walking with us and encouraging us. We could not have made it without their encouraging words. For those last 5 miles or so. Team in Training is so much more than an event it becomes like a second family, a support system, and a way of life. TNT is an awesome organization, and Coaches David and Meg are a vital part of making it such a success!!!














Well we finished!!! We even picked up another runner along the way and Landon encourged "Kyle" to finish despite his 2 broken ribs!!!
















Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. (Hebrews 12:1 NLT)

Cowtown Marathon 8 days....

Hopefully we will not get detoured during our first Marathon.

This is an interesting story about a 1912 Olympic Marathoner. He did go back and Finish though.

hrtbps:

The marathon runner who went missing for 50 years

Shizo Kanakuri disappeared while running the marathon in the 1912 Summer Olympics in Stockholm. He was listed as a missing person in Sweden for 50 years — until a journalist found him living quietly in southern Japan.

Overcome with heat during the race, he had stopped at a garden party to drink orange juice, stayed for an hour, then took a train to a hotel and sailed home the next day, too ashamed to tell anyone he was leaving.

There’s a happy ending: In 1966 Kanakuri accepted an invitation to return to Stockholm and complete his run. His final time was 54 years, 8 months, 6 days, 8 hours, 32 minutes and 20.3 seconds — surely a record that will last forever. (via)

New this week!!!

Several things new this week.

1. We are officially registered for the Cowtown Full Marathon. No backing out now, 26.2 miles here we come!!!

2. New mileage, 20 miles due on Saturday!!! We have to get an early start because we plan on also catching a movie...anyone have recommendations?

3. On Sunday it's Ginger's Birthday!!!I think running/walking gear might be in order, also maybe something else???

This might be a quick weekend. It seems as though the weekends are getting shorter... Don't they still have 48 hrs.?