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THE MISFITS
Corps Marathon have conquered heat, humidity, hills, fatigue and in some cases injuries to reach the starting line of the 35th annual “People’s Marathon” on Oct. 31. Still others have surmounted more-personal challenges to get there. Here are a few of their stories.
‘Life after cancer’ When Judy Laufman turned
49 in February, the Vienna resident couldn’t have felt better. Those last 10 unwanted pounds had finally dropped off, her six-day-a-week exercise routine was helping her run faster than ever and her younger son was preparing to ship out to Parris Island, S.C., to become one of the few and the proud. To give herself something to focus on while he was at boot camp, she signed up for the Marine Corps Marathon (which she’d done once before) and started raising money for the Injured Marine Semper Fi Fund. Two months later, she found herself in a doctor’s office hearing a diagnosis of Stage 3 metastatic breast cancer. “The first thing I said was, ‘I’m running this race,’ ” recalls Laufman, who was advised to keep her expectations in check by her medical team. “But none of them said give it up,” she says. And she hasn’t. Through months of chemotherapy treatments, Laufman and her husband — who, despite a bad back, is running with her — have stuck with the plan to get ready by Oct. 31. There are horrible days. Ones with joint aches, numbness in her fingertips and flat-out fatigue. Ones with no appetite, which makes a long jog impossible. But there are also good days. “I squeeze a lot out of
26.2 miles to go, but look how far they’ve come O
by Lenny Bernstein and Vicky Hallett
vercoming obstacles — physical, mental and spiritual — is the essence of marathon running. The 30,000 participants in the 2010 Marine
Back on his feet Let’s not mince words about
this: Chris Hatton took up marathoning in prison, where he served 14 years for beating a man to death with a claw hammer. He trained and then ran on
his 26th birthday, around and around a track in the recreation yard in a Petersburg, Va., facility, 72 laps in all. “That was a turning point in
my life,” says Hatton, now 34. “I started to heal inside. Running was an outlet for me, a way to release all that stress.” Released a year ago, he will run the Marine Corps Marathon as part of his rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Running and yoga have given him a discipline he once lacked, he says, and he wants to show others who are incarcerated what is possible. “I’m really running it for those who are still locked up . . . and might not have much hope of getting out and may be down and out,” Hatton says. Hatton is aided by Back on My
JOEL RICHARDSON FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Judy Laufman calls cancer “just a giant pothole along the way.”
those days,” Laufman says. Is it fun? Nope. But the
training has built up her mental fortitude as much as her physical strength. It’s given her a reason to get out of bed in the morning and a way to channel her frustrations. “Defiance is the best word for it,” she says. “There will be life after cancer. It’s just a giant pothole along the way.”
If she can make it through the
first 20 miles fast enough to beat the stragglers’ bus, she knows she can accomplish two goals: “I want that finisher’s medal. And I want to poke breast cancer in the eye.”
—V.H. EVY MAGES FOR THE WASHINGTON POST
Wounded vet Will Reynolds bikes 12 miles each way to work. “I just like being able to step out your door and get some cardio in,” he says.
Feet, an organization that uses running to help homeless people regain their confidence and self-sufficiency. The group, founded in Philadelphia by Anne Mahlum, who passed a homeless shelter on her morning run each day, has helped hundreds of homeless people in five cities train for and run races of various distances. It also enrolls them in job and education programs and assists them in their search for housing. After living in a series of rehabilitation facilities, Hatton moved into his own apartment, a basement rental in Northeast Washington, earlier this month. He would be the first member of Back on My Feet’s D.C. chapter to complete a marathon.
—L.B. SUSAN BIDDLE FOR THE WASHINGTON POST Running got Chris Hatton, center, on the right track in prison. misfits continued on 15
13 DC
THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21, 2010
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