Imagine

schroederman September 7th, 2008

by Darryll Zurbyk

My friend and regular half marathon running partner Mona Stott, who???s from a small town south of Winnipeg called Niverville, had been training hard and was ready to run her 2nd full Manitoba Marathon on Sunday June 17th this year. All of her training was complete and she had already tapered when her 24 year old son Joey took his life 8 days before the marathon. Mona was still contemplating running that day, but decided not to.

Joey???s funeral was actually on the day of the marathon. It also happened to be Father???s Day, and Joey???s birthday.

Our running group, the Tazzies, participated in the marathon in the morning and attended Joey???s funeral in the afternoon.?? After her loss, I let her know that whenever she want to start running again, she just had to call me and I???d be there. A few months later, she did call and Mona was out running again.

We could tell that Mona was still hurting but she wanted to continue doing something she enjoyed. Mona is a very driven person. When she puts her mind to something, there???s not much that will stop her. Mona wanted to have something positive come out of Joey???s death, so in September she decided to run her own marathon in support of the Mood Disorder Association of Manitoba.

She recruited her nieces Janelle and Nadine Aubin to train with her and run the full marathon in Joey???s memory. Janelle and Nadine were not runners, but they are both in good shape and were not beginners. Following a modified Running Room training schedule along with running stairs/hills once a week, they set a date of November 24, 2007.

Mona let hundreds of people know about the event through a Facebook event she created called ???IMAGINE???.?? She did some promos on local radio shows, networked through the running community she knows from the Pembina Running Room and invited everyone from her large extended family to attend or participate in some way.

Their training extended through the Manitoba fall when you???re never quite sure what the weather will offer.?? They trained in some very nice weather and some not so nice days. I created a 26.2 mile route that took them through the southern part of Winnipeg, trying to incorporate the less travelled, more sheltered roads.

On the day of the run, we gathered at the Running Room at 8:30 to prepare for the event. There were about a 60 people there to support the cause. We took pre-run pictures, set up for some fundraising door prizes, prepared vehicles who would follow in support, passed out maps of the route and put on our bright lime green shirts. There were lots of large laminated pictures of Joey that people pinned to the backs of their shirts. We had a ceremonial balloon release in Joey???s honor and we were all set to go.

About 20 runners started out as a group to support the full marathoners Mona, Janelle and Nadine. Throughout the entire route, there was always a pack of support runners along with a handful on bikes and in vehicles. It was a typical Winnipeg November day, about -5C at the start reaching about 0C at the end. There were many people who joined up for portions of the run and many more who offered their support as the runners went by.

Among the support runners was Mona???s husband Jeff, WHO IS NOT A RUNNER! Jeff kept pace with the group for about 13 miles! This was an incredible achievement considering Jeff had no training (that we know of) and he rode a bike for the remainder.?? Mona???s daughter Danielle was also along on a bicycle to support her mom and cousins.

There were a few times during the run when emotions were very strong. At mile 19, 24 and during the last mile more than a few tears were shed thinking about Joey. There were at least a hundred people waiting at the finish to congratulate Mona and the rest of the runners upon completion, with a finishing time of 4:34:00.

After the run there were refreshments and friendship available in and around the Running Room. A big thank you goes out to Lyn & Rose and their staff at the Running Room for all the support given to Mona and her cause. To date,?? Mona raised in excess of $17,500 (and counting) in support of the Mood Disorder Association and provided much awareness to all about the plight of persons affected by this.

Article from Running Room Magazine July-Aug. 2008: 44-44 by permission of the author.

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