Finding Magic in Running for NFE

By: Chris Leano

Magic happens in these kind of runs.
Last year at the San Francisco Marathon it was meeting the Fisch family, and it was their words of encouragement that planted the seeds for my family to not feel sorry for ourselves and break out and do something positive.

This year was no different.   At mile 20, when I felt like I was hurting and cramping, a guy came up to me and started running with me for a while, then passed me up, turned around and stopped. He started to take a photo of me.  After I came up to him, he told me that he had a friend who had someone in his family who has NF; he never knew that we had the NF Endurance team.  I  told him to look us up on ctf.org, and after he thanked me, he told me to have a good run.

After that, the pain just magically went way.  The second time was at the end, when my thigh cramp came back, and that is when Steve came up with me. He gave me words of encouragement for the end of the race.  I was hurting and frustrated, and I could not see the finish, but Steve kept me focused. At that moment, I pictured my 13-year-old son Robby, sprinting to the end of his first 10K this year. I told myself to do the same for Robby, Leticia, Marcus, and other folks who have NF.   The strength from others just makes us stronger.

Leticia and Robby are such an inspiration. Leticia was paralyzed in her late 20s, and when they took out the tumor from her spine, the doctors told her that she would not have full strength in her legs, and perhaps have trouble even walking.  As we run, we keep in mind Paul Fisch’s words about the mind, and how very important it is to keep those “positive spirits;” it will take both the physical (dollars), and mental (words), to get us through this hurdle of NF in our lives.