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Jogginforthenoggin…

By Coach Jenny Hadfield

Team McGraw is happy to share our appreciation for Coach Jenny Hadfield, the best-selling author of Marathoning for Mortals and the newly released Running for Mortals. An outstanding example for our Team McGraw runners, Coach Jenny is a spirited motivator and an experienced endurance athlete.

In this entry from her blog at JennyHadfield.com, Coach Jenny shares her story about meeting runner and brain tumor survivor Jen McDevitt, getting to know the Tug McGraw Foundation, and her plans to run the "Joggin for the Noggin" 5K in support of the both Jen and the Foundation.

(Article reprinted from the June 23 posting on JennyHadfield.com. )

It's a small world after all. Last fall as I sat in my office hammering away at blogs, emails and other fun coaching stuff my mind and heart was instantly pulled from away to watch this piece on the Today show. (Link at bottom of page.) It included a segment about a marathon runner from Palatine, Illinois named Jen McDevitt. It was an interview that left me speechless and also brought me to tears. You see, Jen is a brain tumor survivor. But more importantly, she is a runner. A marathon runner. She was diagnosed in 2003 only eight short weeks after having her son, Jack. What struck me was her amazing attitude and spirit. She trained for her first marathon in 2004 while under chemo (not to mention being a new mom, work...). It tugged on my heartstrings as I had just lost my father to a brain tumor and felt a huge gravitational pull toward her and the cause (The Tug McGraw Foundation). I thought to myself, "Self, someday I would like to meet Jen McDevitt and raise funds for the Tug McGraw Foundation."

Fast-forward to now and Jen and I are quickly becoming friends (that's the small world part). I had the chance to meet Jen a few weeks back at a Tim McGraw Concert (read my blog about how serendipity plays a role here). She is hosting a race called the Joggin'for the Noggin on Sunday, August 17th at 7:30 in Palatine, Illinois. I am going to run the race and I hope you can too. If you are in the area and looking for a fun 5K for a great cause, sign up here!

Or, if you want to volunteer and spread the good karma, shoot her an email and help out for the morning. Trust me, her energy and spirit will rub off on you:)

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