Share Your Special Race Story
Tell us why you walk or run the Tufts Health Plan
10K for Women.
Do you run for your health, to stay focused, to gain self-confidence, for the camaraderie, or just for the fun of it?
Tell us why you run the Tufts Health Plan 10K for Women. Submit your story by Friday, September 10th and become eligible to win a free pair of New Balance footwear.
Below is a story that was submitted in 2009 by a Tufts Health Plan
10K for Women participant. Her story truly moved us. We hope it does
the same for you.
Dear Tufts 10K for Women,
My name is Sarah Luehrman, and I'm running this race because of a picture of me and my mother, Ann Roy Luehrman, taken in 1987. Mom is sweaty-faced and smiling as she holds me; she has just finished the Tufts 10K, and I, 1 1/2 years old, am wearing her race number. Mom ran this race every year for some time, back when it was still the Bonne Bell; in fact, many of her friends still think of it now as "Ann's Race."
Six years or so after the photo was taken, Mom was diagnosed with breast cancer, and though she fought it bravely for seven years, she died when I was thirteen. I've always treasured the Tufts 10K photo; it is one of the reasons that I started running in college. Though I lived far away for several years, I promised myself that if I ever found myself in Boston in October, I would run the Tufts 10K in memory of Mom. This is my first year back in town since leaving for college, and the race is marked on my calendar: October 12th, Mom's birthday.
Thank you for continuing to make this race happen for all these years. Mom would love to know that it's still around.
Sincerely,
Sarah Luehrman