Local gearing up for Paris marathon

Posted on 24 March 2011 by LeslieM

By Gary Curreri


72-year-old Karen Smith

Karen Smith certainly doesn’t act her age.

The 72-year-old Pompano Beach woman will be joined by more than two dozen other members from Team in Training runners from South Florida, who will run in the Marathon de Paris, set for April 10, in the French capital.

Smith is the eldest of the 30-member group, who have raised close to $50,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) and are making the trip to Paris. Her father died at 54 of Leukemia in 1961; back then, they didn’t have chemo or radiation.

“They just gave you blood transfusions and, at some point, they just couldn’t keep ahead,” Smith said. “I was moving around the country a lot and saw a flier about Team in Training and decided to get involved.”

Smith said she started running in the late 1980s as a stress reliever and is happy she did. She has mentored and coached members of the Team in Training, in addition to running 14 full marathons and 16 half-marathons.

“I started off walking and worked my way up to running and doing more distance,” said Smith, who entered several local 5Ks and 10Ks before running her first marathon in 2000 in Maui. “It was such an exhilarating feeling to … have a long-term goal and then be successful and actually finish it.

She completed the race in 5 hours and 54 minutes.

“I had visions of running and finishing dead last,” Smith said. “It was good to know I didn’t finish last.”

Smith said she sees herself continuing to run. She said the physical activity sometimes takes a backseat to the fundraising.

“Usually, the people sign up and they are more afraid of raising the money than the running,” Smith said. “Things fall into place and then the training becomes hard. There are children and others who are dying, so you want to be involved.”

“I know there are people out there who are in their 80s running, so I would hope that maybe I will keep running when I am their age,” Smith said. “I like to volunteer, and what is unique about the training is that it gives me the opportunity to volunteer and be active. I don’t want to sit around. This combines the best of both worlds. I don’t mind sweating. I love warm weather. I love to be outside. I am running for those who can’t.”

The runners are Team In Training alumni, all have returned to the program to further aid LLS in its long-term quest to end blood cancers. These participants have been training each Saturday morning and are still actively seeking donations and sponsors for their efforts.

According to Dawn Haney, senior campaign director for Team In Training in Southern Florida, Marathon de Paris was offered as an alumni-only event as, not only a thank-you for previous participant efforts, but as a special way to continue giving back to LLS.

Funds raised by Team In Training participants are used throughout the South Florida community, aiding patient outreach, health education efforts, research and advocacy, and current patient care across the region.

For more information, contact Haney at 954-744-5312 or dawn.haney@lls.org.

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