Missy Spangler joined Team Fox this year to run in the NYC Marathon. An avid runner, Missy was on the cross country team at her high school in Ritchie County, WV. Her father eventually became a coach of the team, always encouraging her to keep up with her training and to “get that run in.” So when her father was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease in 2001 at age 39, it was only natural for her to turn her passion for running into a fundraiser. Fast forward 11 years, and Missy is finally ready for her first 26.2-miler.
In the following except from her blog, Missy explains why she is raising funds for Team Fox:
Sometimes I don't feel like I'm there as much for dad as I wish I could be, sometimes I don't know how to make any of "this" better from a caregiver's perspective. This marathon is so much of who dad helped me to be, and that's why I’m doing it. When our cross country team was about to lose the volunteer coach we had, dad stepped in with all of his football coaching knowledge to be a running coach… and I'm not sure he ever thought he'd love that as much as he did.
I've always pushed through hardships [by] working hard at something else. As a runner, you find your solutions to life and find yourself during a long run day and you're miles from home with just the scenic views around you and it's easy to escape to reflect. I think there are days I struggle more with my best friend having something that none of us can make any better... I miss his voice full of advice, his handwritten inspiration notes, and even the typed items that had words so badly misspelled that even spell check [couldn’t] figure [them] out… I look forward to these future days of training and running to allow myself to reflect on so many of these things and to help me deal with this in some way.
This year, Missy is planning a number of fundraisers to help her reach her fundraising goal for the NYC marathon. She’s already hosted a bar event and is gearing up for three more events in October. There will be a chili dinner and auction at a local senior living facility on October 18th, a scrapbooking crop party with her cousin on October 20th, and a “Shaking it Up” social on October 24th—and all this in the midst of marathon training. She hopes to raise at least $10,000 for Team Fox.
To learn more about Missy and her efforts, visit her Team Fox page or check out her blog. Best of luck, Missy!