Several LHS teachers are running the Bank of America Chicago Marathon this year, including Mr. Sean Ferrell, Ms. Carrie Niemet, and Mr. Matt Thompson. The race willl take place October 9.
A marathon is a grueling 26.2 mile race, which takes a toll on the body. “It’s hard to walk for the next few days,” said Mr. Thompson, a social studies teacher.
Mr. Ferrell stated that running a marathon “reflects your mental toughness.” However, it was implied that these races are an experience of a lifetime.
Miss Niemet also mentioned that running is “bittersweet. You feel awesome (afterward) because you finished a race.” Although it is challenging, these teachers are running for various motivational causes and people.
Mr. Thompson has run six marathons for the American Cancer Society, as well as another marathon before that. He ran for a number of people this year that mean a lot to him, including Kristen McQueen and Mr. Randy Kuceyeski. Mr. Thompson also ran this race for his grandparents and Gregg Sternaman, who have passed away. Runners for ACS wear ribbons to represent the organization, which are “wings that help us through the marathon,” according to Mr. Thompson.
McQueen is a woman who Mr. Thompson and his wife became friends with through ACS. McQueen runs marathons and competes in Ironman events every year for ACS, and has raised over $100,000 so far. She continued to compete and fundraise even after being diagnosed with cancer, and she is very motivational to Mr. Thompson.
As a baseball coach, Mr. Thompson worked with Sternaman before he passed away. Sternaman worked for LHS as an assistant baseball coach for a year before he passed away. He was diagnosed with skin cancer some time before this, but it came back and spread to his brain.
Mr. Ferrell also ran this year for Mr. Kuceyeski and might not have ran if it weren’t for Coach Kuz. He ran as “a way to say thank you to a person who’s done so much for me.”
Mr. Ferrell draws many parallels between Mr. Kuceyeski and his father, who he also ran for this year. Just as Mr. Ferrell ran the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington D.C. two years ago for Parkinson’s disease, which his father carried, he ran this year's Chicago marathon for Coach Kuceyeski and the American Cancer Society. Mr. Ferrell raised more than $10,000 for the Marine Corps Marathon.
Coach Kuceyeski and Mr. Ferrell have become closer because of Mr. Ferrell’s father’s passing. “Sometimes our greatest experiences in life come when we experience our greatest tragedy,” said Mr. Ferrell.
This also applies to Mr. Kuceyeski being diagnosed with cancer, as Mr. Ferrell sees now, more than ever, how much he is appreciated for all he does. “I think so many times in life, we focus on what we can get, as opposed to what we can give, and I think when we put our focus on giving to other people, we naturally get so much in return,” said Mr. Ferrell.
Although this was Miss Niemet’s first full marathon, it will most likely not be her last.
Miss Niemet looked forward to running her first marathon, although she has run half marathons and various other races in the past. She did long runs to prepare, as well as cross training to stay injury-free for the big day.
The way in which Mr. Thompson and Mr. Ferrell prepared was by gradually increasing their endurance. Mr. Thompson’s goal for the race was to finish in under four hours, while Mr. Ferrell just wanted to finish. Although Miss Niemet’s first goal was to just finish, she revised her statement to a goal of under four hours.
Strangely enough, neither Miss Niemet, Mr. Thompson nor Mr. Ferrell ran in high school. One of the reasons Mr. Ferrell runs is to clear his mind and think through situations. As all of the teachers mentioned are coaches of various sports, they all try to incorporate the values of running with their athletes, both physically and emotionally.
An example of this is the fact that Miss Niemet requires her cheerleaders to run a mile before most practices. She does this to increase endurance, specifically mentioning that they must prepare for three minutes of intense cheer without stopping.
Both Mr. Ferrell and Mr. Thompson communicate their passion of running for causes to their baseball players, with hopes that these young athletes will learn to do the same in their lives.