WE RUN THIS

Hi guys! So just wanted to share with you my story. I grew up with idiopathic lumber Scoliosis but in spite of that was always very athletic and played many sports such as basketball, soccer, tennis, golf and in particular Cross Country. I even ran 2 years at the collegiate level for Florida State University. Well one day a few years later, my Scoliosis curvature had progressed to the point where I needed spinal fusion surgery to correct the curve. October 2009 during the hours long surgery, they installed two titanium rods the length of my back fixated to select vertebrae with these really long screws. They would be permanently in my body. When I got out of surgery it took me months to get fully back to normal and the doctors cautioned me that I might never be able to run long distances or possibly never run again at all. They said to take it easy. For those that know me know that was not an option for me. I got right back to it and worked my butt off so that I could one day succeed in checking off one of my top bucket-list items of running a marathon. A few years later in 2012, I proceeded to do just that. After training tirelessly for months, I completed the Los Angeles Marathon! After I crossed the finish line I was overcome with emotion just knowing the huge obstacles that I had overcome to get to that point. In 2014 I trained more and completed the Chicago Marathon in a little under 4 hours which was a personal goal of mine. I've been very blessed to be able to bounce back from a significant back deformity and surgery and don't take it for granted ever. I still deal with pain daily but it's nothing like seeing what so many people have had to go through, especially those with spinal cord injuries. Watching the daily struggle for them just to do basic life tasks makes me want to fight so hard to support the Wings for Life Foundation because they make it possible for ground-breaking research to take place in the fight for a cure. In fact, 100% of the registrations fees for this run go to fund this research. It really makes a difference and watching someone who has had a spinal cord injury stand or walk again makes this effort so worth it! Thanks so much for taking the time to read my story and for any support you can give to this great cause! -Brandi "Garcia" Rook