This month, 草莓传媒 is spotlighting participants in the 2019 Marine Corps Marathon events who are running with purpose and plan to finish with pride.
When Todd Gaddy, of Lutherville, Maryland, moved to the mid-Atlantic region about a decade ago, he was overweight and sedentary. But with time, he turned what began with slow walks outdoors into long distance runs 鈥� and eventually, marathons.
In fact, he had run 15 marathons by the time 2016 rolled around, and while he wasn鈥檛 running as fast as he felt he should have been, he kept going. Then, in April of 2016, he was diagnosed with a form of multiple sclerosis. Since then, he鈥檚 kept running anyway. When he runs the Marine Corps Marathon next weekend, he鈥檒l be up to 21 marathons.
鈥淚鈥檓 running the race to show myself and maybe some others that you can do more than you can, more than you think you can,鈥� said Gaddy. 鈥淭his is a way to push beyond that and help myself not be defined by that.鈥�
Before, Gaddy ran for the physical and mental health benefits. He had lost weight and life was a little less stressful. In the weeks and months before his diagnosis, he now concedes something was a bit off, and that he was running at a slower pace than he had been before and didn鈥檛 know why.
Since the diagnosis, it makes a bit more sense to him, but at the same time, his doctors want him to keep running now.
鈥淚鈥檓 trying to help what I can鈥檛 control not define who I am, but rather what I can control be the thing that I focus on,鈥� said Gaddy.
MS affects people in a variety of different ways. Mobility and balance are among the more notable symptoms that can pose problems for people.
Luckily for Gaddy, that hasn鈥檛 been the case. Instead, it鈥檚 fatigue that鈥檚 been the worst thing he鈥檚 dealt with so far, and he admits he gets 鈥渕ore tired, more quickly.鈥�
At the same time, Gaddy is confident running is keeping him going and living life with fewer MS symptoms than other people who develop the chronic illness.
鈥淐ertainly, emotionally, it helps me,鈥� said Gaddy. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a great way to help myself emotionally. Kind of a cathartic kind of experience to get out and run and not allow the stress to build up. It鈥檚 a great stress reliever for anyone generally speaking, illness or otherwise, but especially for some of the issues that I and others work through.鈥�
鈥淚鈥檝e never gone out and run and regretted doing it,鈥� he added.
Even if age and MS tag team against him over time, he defiantly said, 鈥淢S affects my pace but I can run farther than it.”
He knows that won鈥檛 be the case forever. Gaddy concedes that at a certain point he might be unable to keep running marathons. He鈥檚 not there yet, and he鈥檚 not worried about when he gets there either.
鈥淚鈥檓 going to run until I can鈥檛 anymore,鈥� said Gaddy. 鈥淎nd the fact of running helps me deal with the stress of whatever that may be.鈥�
He has friends he runs with and keeps positive people around to keep mentally strong. He also has a wife and two daughters still in school, one in college and one in high school, who help him stay focused.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e very supportive of me running,鈥� said Gaddy. 鈥淭hey鈥檙e very excited [when they see me run] as am I when I see them.鈥�
He also sees his fighting spirit in his daughters as they grow, even if they haven鈥檛 verbalized it.
鈥淚鈥檇 like to think maybe a little bit of what I鈥檓 doing has an impact in that regard, and that鈥檚 exciting to see,鈥� said Gaddy.
鈥淲hatever it is, I encourage people to do hard things,鈥� said Gaddy. 鈥淔or me that鈥檚 running a marathon. That鈥檚 a difficult thing that not a lot of people do. So whatever your difficult thing is, that鈥檚 what I encourage people to do and get with others who help you stay accountable to that task.”
“Push yourself as much as you possibly can. Understand that there may be some limitations you have,” Gaddy added.
“Every step forward takes you closer to that goal.鈥�
