Editor’s note: All this month leading up to the Marine Corps Marathon, 草莓传媒鈥檚 Jamie Forzato is bringing you stories of runners who have endured loss, persevered through personal struggles and found hope.
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ALEXANDRIA, Va. 鈥� Brooke Sydnor Curran used to be a pack-a-day smoker.
But after college, she started making healthier choices and turned to running as a way to unwind.
鈥淚 had to run for some peace and quiet. To call something my own,鈥� the Alexandria native said. 鈥淚t made me a better mom. It made me a better person.鈥�
Then, the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks happened.
鈥淯ntil 9/11, I felt like life was leading me. I felt like I hadn鈥檛 really gone after stuff that I wanted in life. And 9/11 kind of shocked me into the precarious and fragility of life,鈥� she recalled.
She wrote a bucket list. Running a marathon was at the top. Her first was the Marine Corps Marathon in 2004.
鈥淚 got really good. But the ironic thing was, the better I got, the less it meant to me,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 would train for four, five, six months and then feel nothing at the finish line. No sense of accomplishment, only emptiness. Like, 鈥極kay. I crossed the finish line, again. Why? What now? Who cares?鈥欌��
That鈥檚 when an encounter changed her life forever. She was driving in Alexandria on a rainy, cold February day, when she saw a young mother pushing a child in a stroller weighted down with grocery bags.
鈥淥ur eyes met. You could just see and feel the heaviness and the weight of the world on her shoulders. It was like a second lightning bolt moment. I realized that I鈥檓 in a position to do something,鈥� she said.
She founded , a nonprofit that renovates playgrounds in Alexandria neighborhoods where most of the children are younger than 5.
She pledged to run in all seven continents and all 50 states to raise money and awareness.
鈥淎ntarctica was ridiculous, in a terrific way. That was 40 mile-per-hour sustained winds and sleet. We were running in mud,鈥� she recalled.
Fast forward seven years, RunningBrooke has helped more than 5,000 children. The Hume Springs Park playground on Dale Street was her most recent project.
鈥淏efore we came, there was a 10-foot-high chain link fence that surrounded the park. It had a very prison-like feel. The lighting wasn鈥檛 good. There were no trash cans or benches. There was no water fountain. There were no picnic tables. There were no trees and plants,鈥� she said.
Today, it鈥檚 a clean, updated space filled with Virginia-native plants and flowers.
Brooke鈥檚 journey is coming full circle. The Marine Corps Marathon was her first marathon. This year鈥檚 Marine Corps Marathon, scheduled for Oct. 30, will be her 100th.
鈥淲e have 100 runners on our team fundraising for Alexandria. That鈥檚 going to help make sure all kids have a park. All kids can feel the joy of being outside,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou think about the kids that you鈥檙e helping and that makes it all worthwhile for me.鈥�
