When I tell people “I ran across the country last summer,” I get many different reactions. The most common is “You what….” with a look of disbelief on their faces. As the conversation progresses more and I divulge more information about the 4K for Cancer, slowly that disbelief turns to belief but also shock. Some people stop in their tracks when they learn more about my experiences last summer. Some people just can’t believe it and call me Forrest Gump. Some people feel inspired and yet others just don’t get it. Most people tell me I’m crazy. Sometimes I feel crazy.
Very rarely do people ask me what I got out of the journey and what I learned from it. Too often the conversation is on a very superficial level. But when it comes to the 4K for Cancer, it was more than making our way across the country and fundraising for an amazing cause. It was so much more than that. We may seem crazy for what we did, but all of us faced our fears last summer. We took the first step to confront our fears. Every step after that slowly became easier. Our fears became something that didn’t hold us back anymore but empowered us to move forward.
Before the 4K for Cancer, most people weren’t even aware of the fact that I am a cancer survivor. When I started studying at Sacred Heart University in Fall 2016, I kept it to myself for fear of being treated differently from others. Treatment was alienating in some respects and all I wanted to be was a normal college kid. For the longest time, I could count on two hands the number of people at Sacred Heart that knew of my past. This revelation, combined with the sheer magnitude of the run, I believe is what make people so shocked about the 4K for Cancer. Now that the summer is in the past, everyone knows about my past and my struggles with survivorship. Partly because of everything that was published on this blog, but also because I became so much more comfortable with talking about it.
When I look at the evolution of my perspective and my journey last summer, this is exactly what the 4K for Cancer is. It empowers individuals effected by cancer to face their fears. It supports them, their loved ones, and everyone else in their lives. It connects communities across the nation. One of Ulman’s mottos, “Cancer changes lives, so do we,” could not describe the 4K for Cancer in a more perfect way.
But what exactly is the 4K for Cancer?
The 4K for Cancer is a program of the Ulman Foundation and aims to build a community of support for young adult cancer patients and their families. 4K for Cancer is an annual event that has been sending teams of young adults across the country since 2001. In Summer 2019, I was fortunate enough to partake in Team Boston, one of four teams. Two teams biked, while two teams ran across the country. We ran from San Francisco, California to Boston, Massachusetts in forty-nine days.
Each member of the 4K for Cancer teams is between the ages of 18 and 25. In addition, each participant has personally experienced the effects of a cancer diagnosis or has experienced the repercussions of a loved one’s diagnosis. On Team Boston 2019, there were two survivors, Erin and I. However, regardless if you were a survivor or not, the impact 4K had on the lives of everyone involved was more than any of us thought possible. Along our journey, we learned so much that would never have been possible without the 4K for Cancer or the Ulman Foundation.
Through endless teamwork and cooperation from Ulman, the teams, and total strangers we met along the way this annual event is made possible. Every year, the teams run in relay fashion from west to east coast. My team, Team Boston, started in San Francisco, California on June 16th, 2019 and finished in Boston, Massachusetts on August 3rd, 2019. Every day we each ran up to 16 miles to get to our next host site. Community centers such as churches, firehouses, schools, and YMCAs volunteer every summer to host runners and bikers. They provided us a place to eat and sometimes a meal and shower as well.
To honor those we ran for, each day was dedicated to a loved one who has been impacted by cancer. Our motto: “Every Mile Matters” means that we run for those who can’t. The dedication circle in the morning was a sacred space where we shared with everyone the meaning of the name we had written on our leg.
On rest days, 4K for Cancer participants go into the community to visit patients who are currently undergoing treatment. Team Boston was lucky enough to be included with Ronald McDonald Houses, Hope Houses, the Imerman angels, and so many other passionate foundations helping the cancer community. Although during rest days we didn’t make progress on our journey across the country, we made progress in the lives of the community and our own personal journey with cancer.
Together, our campaign had a goal of raising $1,000,000 for the mission of the Ulman Foundation. By the end of Summer 2019, we had raised just over $700,000.00. Individually, I raised just over $8,300.00. We were all beyond excited with these totals and are forever thankful for our supporters, donors, family, and friends who helped to make this possible.
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