...and one more article!

Hello all! A little more than three weeks to go until the Boston Marathon - I can't believe how quickly the time has passed. Here's another one of my articles from The Harbus - hope you enjoy it!

Going the Distance

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

Erica Guo, Tanya Soluk, Kelly Carson and Abigail Wattley at the Red Party.

This is the third in a series of articles following EC Kelly Carson's quest to run her first marathon through the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge.

The past few weeks have passed by in a blur - run, study, class, eat, hang out with friends, sleep, repeat… and suddenly, there are only six weeks left until the Boston Marathon. While I'm excited, I can't help thinking - how did this happen?! Am I really going to be able to ramp up to 26.2 miles in a month and a half? Here are a few of the things that have filled my past few weeks:

The Red Party
February 11 was a great night for Dana Farber, as HBS students gathered at Redline and raised more than $1,300 for cancer research.  A huge thank you to all of you that made it out and contributed to this great event - your generosity helped push me nearly halfway to my fundraising goal.  The Red Party's success is also due to the generosity of the many sponsors who donated prizes, including Redline, Dunkin' Donuts, John Harvard's, J. August, Qdoba and Starbucks. 

Running in Philly
Oh, the joys of training while traveling. While in Philly visiting my boyfriend, I managed to squeeze in my longest run ever along the Schuykill River.  To me, there's no better way of seeing a city up close and personal than by running it.  As I run, I like to pause and take pictures of the city from my perspective - like this one about two miles outside of Philly from the river trail.  While I have yet to run "Rocky" style up the steps of Philly's art museum, it's definitely on my agenda… Oh, and the fact that my boyfriend ate lunch in public with my sweaty, gimpy, weirdly attired self after my 14-mile run?  Definitely makes him a keeper.

Hyannis Half Marathon
As February came to a close, I traveled with many of my fellow Dana Farber Marathon Challenge fundraisers to Cape Cod to run the Hyannis Half Marathon.  This beautiful race along the coast was my fourth ever half marathon.  Since I left my iPod at home, I had plenty of time to catch up on my thoughts.  If you've ever wondered what long distance runners think about during their races, I can promise you it is utterly unimpressive:

Wow, it's really beautiful out here… Man, I'm so hungry.  How much longer until the next water stop?  It would be so sweet if they had pizza there.  Even if I finish all 13.1 miles today, I have to do this twice over on Marathon Monday.  Yikes - that's kind of a scary thought.  Man, I really like pizza.  I can't believe that white-haired old man just passed me.  Okay, only 7 more miles to go… Do I seriously have to go home and read cases after this?  I bet it would be a lot easier to read those cases if I had some pizza…  Mmm, pizza…

Somewhere in the middle of the craziness of this race, I realized something - I may not be fast, or all that fit, or know anything about foam rollers or fartleks (yes, that's a real running term) - but today, as my legs propel me forward without my having to force them into it, I am a runner.  In the end this was a great race for me - I cut my personal record time by nearly 15 minutes (I like to credit this to all the Trader Joe's kettle corn I ate in the car on the way out) and got to see fellow ECs Emma Doggett and Stephanie Parker as they finished their first ever half marathons.  Congrats, ladies!

Days until Boston: 42 (Yikes!)
Most miles run (as of March 6): 16      
Funds raised: $3,394.82

Visit www.runDFMC.org/2010/kellyc to find out more and to donate.

Four weeks from today...

Four weeks from today, runners from all over the world will be gathering at the start line of  the Boston Marathon - one of the most famous marathons in the world.  That same day, a six year old little girl who has battled leukemia for the past two years will travel with her mother and sister to mile 25 of the marathon route to cheer on the runners who help make her innovative cancer treatments possible.  As her patient partner, I have come to know Chantal as a shy kid with a great sense of humor and a love of all things basketball – especially the Boston Celtics.  I even took her on at the basketball court last week – and while she can’t quite throw the ball into the basket yet, she definitely outmaneuvered me on the court!  While I get caught up in the fundraising and the training every once in a while, Chantal reminded me of what it’s really all about – coming up with cutting edge new cancer treatments so that someone like Chantal has a fighting chance.

Four weeks from today, I will do my best to honor all of the people I’m running in memory of – from Dr. Beverly Lumumba to Rose Pessemier, from mothers to sons, from aunts to grandparents.  Thanks to your generosity, I have currently raised $4,166.82 towards my goal of $7,000 – or 15.6 “miles” towards my finish line of 26.2 miles.  As I head into my highest mileage training week yet (I ran 18 miles yesterday, and 20 miles are coming up this Saturday!), I need your support to reach my real goal – supporting Dana Farber’s Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.  100% of each dollar you donate goes straight to cancer research!  To donate, please visit http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc or fill out and mail in the attached form.   With only a few weeks left until the marathon, your help will make a HUGE difference towards meeting my goal!

To learn more about my training, feel free to read my articles in Harvard Business School’s newspaper, The Harbus: Article #1, Article #2, and Article #3.  Thank you all so much for your generous support and encouragement! 

Kelly

Another fun Harbus article about my training... :)

Going the Distance

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

By: Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

Posted: 2/16/10

Saturday, 8:03 a.m.:  I join a group of about 70 Dana Farber Marathon Challenge runners in a few final stretches before heading out for the weekly group run.

This is my first run with the other Dana Farber runners, and I'm nervous - because A) there are some seriously hardcore runners here and B) it's about 9 degrees out with wind chill. As we take off running, my conversations with fellow runners always seem to trail back to one topic: what made them run for Dana Farber.

In my running group, people have lost siblings, parents, children, grandparents - but just as many have stories about the ones who made it, the ones who beat cancer using the latest innovative treatments. I only plan to run 10 miles, but with such great company, 12 miles speed by before I know it. Soon I make it back to the gym and start to thaw out (when did I lose feeling in my face?). As I head back home, I keep thinking to myself - only 14 more miles to go until I can run a full marathon. I'm not sure if this is exciting or depressing - but I'm feeling good.

Sunday, 10 a.m.: I'm standing at the starting line for my first pre-Boston race - the Super Sunday 10k. Considering I just ran 12 miles the day before, I start this race out at an easy, relaxed pace. As I time my miles along the route, I realize that my "relaxed pace" is on track to be two minutes faster than my last 10k time. This is the first time I realize that the past months of training have been doing me some good - I'm actually getting faster! The last half-mile of the race is tough - my legs are reminding me of how many miles I've run in the last 24 hours, and I'm overjoyed to see a friend waiting to run the last stretch towards the finish line with me. Touched by the fact that she waited out in the cold after finishing her 5k, I pick up my pace and cross the finish line at a full run. 

Run of the Week:  Along the Charles River downtown. Now, this may seem like an obvious pick (or a masochistic one, considering the cold winds off of the water!), but running along the Charles never fails to get me motivated and remind me just how beautiful a town Boston is…most of the time. I'll admit, Boston and I have developed a love/hate relationship over the past year and a half, and my runs along the Charles really have cemented this. In the summer and fall (or as I've come to think of it, the "honeymoon period"), I get to see the "idyllic" Boston during my runs, all warm and friendly and gussied up with sailboats, swans and warm sea breezes. Most winter days, the Boston I loved is ice cold, blasting me with wind as I run until I'm convinced I'll never feel my face again. Talk about high maintenance…

Days until Boston: 62
Most miles run: 12      
Funds raised: $1,987.40

To support Kelly's run for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge, visit: http://rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc
AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Kelly Carson is a proud member of Old A from Littleton, Colorado. When not running, you can find her singing with the She-E-O's, walking backwards while leading campus tours for the admissions office or (most likely!) waiting in the sushi line at Spangler.

Going The Distance

Here's the full text of an article I wrote for HBS' on campus newspaper, the Harbus (click here to access the online version of the article).  Enjoy!

A Rookie's Journey to Run the Boston Marathon

By: Kelly Carson (OA), Contributing Writer

This is the first in a series of articles following EC Kelly Carson's quest to run her first marathon through the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge.

Just one more mile… OK, maybe just a few blocks more… well, how about to that stop sign? God, I hate running. 

Two years ago, this was the dialogue that ran through my head whenever I tried to run.  Although I was in good shape, I could only run about half a mile before doubling over in pain, and I usually ended up curled on the floor with debilitating cramps when I got home.  I was convinced that running was for masochists, and I laughed at my friends when they tried to convince me to sign up for races with them.  Running is terrible - I would tell them.  Who would ever do a marathon on purpose?

 Today, as I train for my first marathon, I couldn't feel more differently.  As I found out two years ago, I had a medical condition that made distance running next to impossible for me.  A few months later, after a painful surgery and recovery, I decided to give running one more chance.  That day, I jogged three amazing miles through the Colorado foothills and ran up the steps to my house overjoyed, humming the Rocky theme and pumping my hands above my head.  While I wasn't exactly marathon material, I felt free - and so excited about my newfound ability to run.

 When I entered HBS, I reluctantly agreed when two wonderful and motivated friends convinced me to train for my first half-marathon.  After that, I was hooked, running two more half-marathons in the next seven months.  For me, running was a release, a privilege, a testament to the power of quality medical care.  Suddenly, I was that crazy runner girl that I used to make fun of - the one who tries to convince people to sign up for races and actually wears one of those nerdy hydration belts in public!

 When I found out about the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge through a case study in my "Leading and Governing High Performing Nonprofits" class, I was instantly determined to join the team.  After seeing the devastating impact that cancer had on my life and that of my family and friends, I knew it was the perfect way to combine my newfound love of running with a great cause - raising funds for cutting-edge cancer research.

 Over the coming months, I invite you to follow me through my ups and downs, my triumphs and my frustrations, as I work to raise $7,000 for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge - and as I prepare for 26.2 miles of excitement, joy and, well, pain on Marathon Monday.  With your help, we can move closer to the Dana Farber Cancer Institute's ultimate finish line: a world without cancer.

Visit www.rundfmc.org/2010/kellyc to find out more and to donate.

AUTHOR'S BIOGRAPHY
Kelly Carson is a proud member of Old A from Littleton, Colorado. When not running, you can find her singing with the She-E-O's, walking backwards while leading campus tours for the admissions office, or (most likely!) waiting in the sushi line at Spangler.

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