Marathon
Strides Against MS
Meet
our Running Expert - Regina Schuller
Regina has unknowingly
become our Marathon Strides Against MS running expert! At
her very first marathon Regina qualified for the great Boston
Marathon; an accomplishment that takes experienced runners
years to achieve! Regina has recently been diagnosed with
MS, though it has been even more recent that she completed
that awesome first marathon. Read on to see how MS and running
have affected her life.
What made you
decide to run for Marathon Strides Against MS?
I was diagnosed with MS last Fall, just a couple of weeks
after running my first Half Marathon in Toronto and a few
weeks before running my second Half
Marathon in Niagara. The symptoms were my vision – I seemed to be seeing
a few more runners on the road than I should have.
The
news of the diagnosis was an incredible shock. I was diagnosed
after a sleepless
night in St. Michael's Emergency, so it all seemed so incredibly
surreal and dreamlike. I just kept waiting to wake up from
it all. I knew virtually nothing about MS so had a lot to
learn. I found it very scarey and had to approach it very
slowly. My family, friends, and, oddly enough, my running
helped me through it. I keep up training after my diagnosis
as I was planning to run the Half Marathon in Niagara --
I always felt great after my runs – I think it was
the sense of control that it gave me. I have been very fortunate
to have not suffered any mobility limitations and so the
MS has not affected my running.
How did you hear
about Marathon Strides Against MS?
I didn't find out about Marathon Strides until a few days before the Ottawa
Marathon. I wasn't sure I would be able to raise funds with such short notice
but thought I would give it a try. I was overwhelmed by the support I received
from my colleagues, friends, and family (still brings tears to my eyes). Asking
for pledges was so much easier than I imagined and made running my first marathon
all that more rewarding and meaningful for me.
What keeps you
motivated?
I had joined the Marathon Clinic run by the High Park Running Room. The Marathon
Clinic provided the necessary instruction, structure, and, most of all, social
support by allowing me to run with an incredibly motivating bunch of runners
that made running a marathon not only attainable but actually fun.
My
spouse and two children have been incredibly supportive.
It’s been a lot of
fun for all of us, with them taking part in running activities
with me - while I ran the Ottawa, they ran the 2 k Family
run. Right from the start they have been very encouraging
of me running a marathon. My 11 year old son was quite convinced
that I would qualify for Boston with my first marathon. His
parting words when I left the morning of the Ottawa Marathon
were ‘Boston Pizza!' – a little insight to his
motivation perhaps.
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