I signed up for the Big Cottonwood Half Marathon shortly after registration opened for 2013. I had heard such good things about the race from friends that ran it the previous year. I lived just a few miles from the canyon and was so excited.

A couple of months later we decided to move to southern Utah. We were so excited as we had tried to move there for several years and we were finally given a good opportunity. Five days after we moved into our new, beautiful home, my husband (age 37) suffered a stroke and was diagnosed with a metastatic melanoma in his brain, lungs and liver. He fought hard and suffered much, but he passed away on August 22nd, just three weeks before the race.

I was his caregiver (and a mother to 2 young children), so naturally my time for extra activities such as running was very limited. I did find time to run on occasion, but I wasn't able to follow a regular training schedule as I had previously planned.

After his passing, I debated about running the race since I hadn't had the time to train like I wanted to. However, I knew my husband would have wanted me to run. He was my biggest cheerleader and I know he was there to help me down the mountain.