By Kelly Reed
I have signed up to run my 3rd marathon at the 2016 Bank of America- Chicago Marathon on the American Liver Foundation’s charity team. I feel like I am ready for a new challenge, but I decided that if I am going to put myself physically and mentally through this crazy journey again, I want it to have a purpose. It was a quick and no-brainer decision for me to pick this charity and I will tell you why.
My best friend, Julia, is someone I look up to and whose friendship I truly cherish. Julia’s dad, Michael, had been living with liver disease for many years, which included an exhausting number of doctor’s appointments and medications with all the side effects that came along with it. Julia’s wedding to her wonderful husband, Matt, was planned for October 24th, 2014. The morning of the rehearsal dinner I received a call at work. It was another bridesmaid who shared the news that stopped me dead in my tracks. The night before, Michael had to be rushed to the hospital due when he fell ill with minimal responsiveness. The doctors confirmed that his body had sepsis (internal infection) but also a newly found tumor on his liver…it was untreatable cancer, on top of his liver disease.
Michael would not be able to walk his baby girl down the aisle. One can’t even begin to imagine the emotions that come with this reality for Julia and her family. Ultimately, Julia and her family decided the wedding had to go on and that perhaps a small round 2 celebration would happen once her dad recovered. Julia was a stunning bride. She held her head up despite the pain of not having her dad there. Days and weeks went by and Michael’s infection cleared, but he was still very ill with complications from his liver disease and the cancer. Unfortunately, the complications continued and Mike’s body was too weak to make it through another surgery. Michael Francis Perrier passed away on November 17th, 2014 with his wife, daughter, and new son-in-law at his bedside.
Michael loved his “blondes” and was a second father to many of us girls. He is remembered by his infectious smile, massive bear hugs, and the absolute BEST sense of humor. Losing your father, husband, brother, or friend is never going to be easy, and you don’t ever truly get over it. You just do your best to get through each day in hopes to make him proud by the way you live your life. Julia and her family have always been there for me and I wanted to do something special for them and for Michael. So by running this marathon and raising money in Michael’s name, I hope to help keep his legacy going strong in a positive way.
Alchemy challenges us every day we walk in the door. You all know that feeling when you read a movement for today’s workout that’s by far your biggest weakness (DB overhead squats, anyone?). It takes courage and mental toughness to put down your coffee mug, get to the gym (in your Alchemy gear you were likely already lounging in, anyway), and push hard throughout the entire 20 minutes when you, instead, could’ve skipped and saved yourself from any hurt or discomfort. Running long distance does not come as easy for me as squats or pull-ups do. This marathon will be a massive fight that I will physically, mentally, and emotionally have to endure. I don’t have a time goal (although I do love a good ol’ PR) and I realize this will mean scaling back my weights and frequency at Alchemy to avoid overuse injuries (even when I see a workout Tyler programmed that is right in my wheelhouse, which I HATE to miss). My only goal and focus for running this year is to give the training journey and the marathon the best fight I can deliver despite the pain or fatigue I feel… because that’s what Michael did.
At Alchemy we live by the motto of “pursuing your legend”. Michael Perrier already created his legend. This year I am running to pursue my legend, solely to be able to extend his.
To read Michael’s story further (as told by his daughter, Julia), and/or to donate please see here:
