By Tanner Hedrick
My mother, Beverly, was a remarkable woman. Unfortunately, like so many other things, I didn’t truly recognize just how special she was until she was gone.
I grew up knowing my mother as a runner; it was part of who she was. She ran numerous marathons and half marathons, and more 5Ks than I could count. Most mornings she would be up before the sun, always finishing in time to wake me up. Back then I had no interest in running. Like most teens, I would rather sleep in. Even later in high school when I started having weight issues, I never really considered running.
In 2015 I made a resolution to start running; my mother had been diagnosed with cancer in May of 2014. Like with everything else, she was the strongest of us all. She continued to run throughout most of her chemotherapy, over a year’s worth. She wasn’t as fast as before and she couldn’t go as far. But she always kept going, it’s just who she was, and it showed in every part of her life.
At some point, her treatments began to weigh on her and she became unable to run. She could still walk almost every day, but she would always talk about being able to start running again. I didn’t intend it, or even realize it at the time, but in some ways it’s like I picked up running where she left off. I thought that I started running to lose weight and get healthy, something I had needed to do for years. But really, I was running for my mom. Whenever I didn’t feel like running, I would think about how my mother was unable, and I would go. My only regret about running is not starting sooner, when I could have run with .
On September 24, 2015, cancer took my mother, but cancer didn’t win. My mother beat cancer by the way she lived, and the impact she had on the many people that loved her. Running helped me get through the hardest time of my life. I felt closer to my mother when I was running and I wanted to continue her legacy.
Running wasn’t always easy, in fact, it was often hard. When I first started, I couldn’t even finish a mile, and when I was running, it wasn’t very fast. But with my mother as motivation, I kept going just like she would have. And a little over a year later, on April 23rd 2016, I finished the Tar Heel 10 Miler in 1:33:53, and had lost over 100 pounds. My mom helped me get there. Even when she was gone, she was always my biggest motivation. I ran for her and what she stood for.
David, one of my best friends, knew that and when I mentioned training for the Tar Heel 10 Miler, he came up with the idea to create a running team in her memory. What better way to honor my mother than raising money and awareness by doing the thing she loved- running? And so, “Running For Bev!” was born.
Neither of us knew where it would go, what to expect, or even what we were going to do with the team. The support has been amazing, and we now have over 30 people on the team, all helping to raise money for great causes, just like my mother would want. In the month leading up to the race, we were able to raise over $2,000, which was split equally between Hospice Care of Iredell County, The Simstein Memorial Fund, and a scholarship in my mom’s memory at the college where she worked. With loving support from my wonderful family, my girlfriend, Julie, and so many great friends like David we’re hoping to raise even more next year!
From now on, everything I do is in honor of my mom, including running. Every time I put on my running shoes, it’s in her memory. When I’m tired, I think of her. When the last mile is grueling, I think of her. When I cross the finish line, I think of her. She’s the reason I am who I am, both inside and out. I’ll always keep Running For Bev!
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