by Rush McCloy '92

Who actually likes to run for the sake of running? Most of us will run all day if there is a ball to chase, a goal to attack, or a competition to be won. In fact, all of us who recently started a team to raise money for cancer research chased down some form of ball on Deerfield's athletic fields and some of us even played together on the same team during our stint on Albany Road.

Now, ten years after leaving the Pocumtuck Valley, we are all on the same team, but the goal lost its net, the team is now co-ed, and the ball we chase cannot be seen. Nevertheless, we are running with as much determination in the Beijing Marathon, which starts in Tianammen Square and finishes 26.2 miles later in the Olympic Park, in an effort to raise $300,000 for Memorial Sloan-Kettering's Cancer Research Facility. Although we have something to chase and a goal to attack, comprising two of the key ingredients for a successful run, the ultimate opponent is far too great to defeat with the amount we hope to raise. We know our efforts will not bring back those family members and close friends who lost the battle against cancer, but the funds we raise will help those who will fight and currently fight this indiscriminate disease.

How easy is it to round up nine people, some of whom you have not seen in ten years to take a week off from work, to train for and run a marathon in a city halfway around the globe, and to spend endless hours raising money for Memorial Sloan-Kettering? One might expect that it would take a major effort, creative coaxing, and an inordinate amount of time, but put the word out to a room of Deerfield alumni at a reunion, and give it ten minutes....MAX. This is all it took for our group of loyal alumni to start our own team -"Run 4 Research" hatched from its chrysalis in a matter of minutes.

The room was dark and Luke Tansill '92 had just finished a slide presentation and movie at our tenth reunion about his voyage across the South Pacific, having barely sailed before in his entire life. Two minutes after showing footage about his harrowing experience when he sailed solo through a hurricane, it was my turn to get up in front of an audience already on the edge of their seats...tough act to follow? My presentation was to show slides of a marathon I ran in Antarctica to raise money for Memorial. Never did I defy death on this adventure, maybe a little frostbite, but not death. I considered making up a tale about wrestling a leopard seal or being shipwrecked and swimming back across the Drake Passage - topping Shakleton - but my conscience got the best of me. Instead, I delved into the inspiration that prompted me to run this marathon and how those who are and have looked death in the face for a long time, inspired me across the ice.

It did not matter that I never encountered a near-death experience, because after the presentation, Carrie Freeman '92, John Antonini '92, Britt Winterer '92, BoJay Taylor '92 and, of course, Luke Tansill, approached me and suggested that we start a Deerfield-based team to initiate a charity event to raise money for cancer research. I knew the Beijing Marathon was imminent and before leaving campus, "Run 4 Research" was off and running. All we needed to pull this off were a few more teammates.

Shortly after reunions I bumped into Brooke Goodchild '95 in New York, not having seen her in ten years, and briefly mentioned our cause, never expecting a response. She called me back the next day to say that she was ready to roll with Mandy Morrison '93. Brooke had happened to see Mandy running in Central Park, and naturally asked Mandy if she wanted to join the team in Beijing. Not surprisingly, Mandy considered the idea for 30 seconds before shooting a smile, nodding, and continuing on her run. Moments after I heard from Brooke, I received an e-mail from Joe Lerner '93, who heard about the run through Luke, and our team became nine. To our great joy, the team quickly expanded to eleven when Britt and Bojay wrote to tell me that their much better halves would join, so Rosy Winterer and Robin Taylor, now part of the DA family, will travel with us to the other side of the globe to pound the pavement and taste genuine Chicken Chow Mien.

We are all running the race for various reasons. The obvious catalyst is our individual encounters with this disease. After having seen too many family members and friends fight this disease and, most often, lose, we realized that a little motivation, a few pairs of running shoes, some aching knees, and many miles to trot, would enable us to do our part to aid in this battle.

Not every one of us has had a direct experience with Memorial, but Joe Lerner puts it best in his bio on our website. "In August of 2002, my cousin Julie Lerner celebrates her tenth anniversary of being diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. Her battle took her through two bone marrow transplants and 300 blood and platelet transfusions. This past August, Julie underwent her last transfusion and is now looking back at a decade-long fight. Although she found the best patient care at a cancer center in Seattle, many of the procedures that saved her life were developed at MSK. Clearly, in one form or another, we are all indebted to Sloan-Kettering."

Memorial has a particularly special place in my heart, as my grandmother, Laura Hoke McGehee, ("Lala") bravely fought the battle for years and beat overwhelming odds against survival before eventually losing to bone cancer. Memorial Sloan-Kettering was the only hospital that did not relegate her life to a few short weeks, and with a radical new approach they developed, prolonged her life an additional seven years.

All of us have supported various charitable endeavors, whether it is writing a check from time to time or working at the local soup kitchen over Christmas. Carrie has even dedicated her professional life to not-for-profit work, but none of our various careers benefit cancer directly. This marathon enables us to lace up our shoes and proactively play a role. We want to go the "extra mile" to raise more international awareness for cancer victims as well as raise enough money to make a difference in at least a few lives. We also hope to instill the same enthusiasm in young people for philanthropic ventures and bring a positive message to New York and America by competing in this international race.

Is it all hard work? Yes, but a heck of a lot of fun. Each one of us loves to give back, however, there is a motive in all of our hearts that compliments our altruistic impulses. In fact, it is a selfish motive. It is a love for our friends and the time we spent at Deerfield. Only Deerfield alumni know the impalpable bond that holds us all together. This imbedded unity brought us together to undertake this commitment and will bring each one of us across the finish line in Beijing...even if we have to carry one another along the way.

If you wish to find out more about our cause, or donate to help us reach our goal, please visit www.run4research.com and join our extended team (all of you that give will be listed on our website, unless you ask otherwise.) Any help is appreciated. Thank you from all of us.