from Coastin' newsletter, February 2001 ...

Fuzz & the Boston Marathon

Submitted by Paula Weant January 12, 2001

Jim & I were married January 1, 1983 and during our first few years of married life he worked the 3rd shift at a local textile plant. Since I worked the day shift and Jim worked the night shift most of my "home" time was spent by myself. After a few months, I asked Jim for a dog to help keep me company during the nights. Jim, a very goal oriented person, said that I could have a dog after I ran six miles. Jim was a runner but I on the other hand had never run a mile. There was a local 10K race in the fall and that was to be my goal. I was not thrilled with the idea of starting to run but I really wanted a dog and running would give Jim & I another common interest.

I was a relatively fit person so running came fairly easily. I was slow but did manage to steadily increase my mileage until I was at the six mile point I ran my first 10K race in December, a blistering 70 minutes, but that is all I needed for my dog. Shortly after my race, Jim & I went to the local animal shelter and adopted Fuzz. Fuzz quickly won our hearts and became an important part of our family.

While training for my race, I discovered that I enjoyed running and spending that extra time with Jim. Fuzz was a small dog so she was not able to run with us but she loved to walk. When runs were finished, Fuzz would be waiting with anticipation by our front door for our cool down walk. I believe there were days when our cool down walk was longer than our actual run. Fuzz's doctor used to tell us that she was in such great shape because of our exercise regime.

I continued running 5K and 10K runs and over the years increased my mileage so I could run 10 mile races and half marathons. In 1996, I ran my first marathon and was hooked. I enjoyed the distance and the sense of accomplishment that I felt when I had completed the race. When Jim ran the 100th Boston Marathon later that year, that excitement level was so high, that I decided that I would set Boston as a long range goal for me.

Years and many marathons went by and as Fuzz became older she still enjoyed walking but the distance she could travel was much less than in her younger years. In 2000, I was in the best running shape of my life. I had run marathons that year in Charlotte, Abingdon, and Boone and though I did not qualify for Boston, felt good about my times and set my sights on Kiawah in December.

In October 2000, we discovered that Fuzz had cancer. Fortunately, it did not immediately effect her health but by Thanksgiving she lost ability to move her back legs so she could no longer walk. She stayed in good spirits and with our help she was able to move around. Physically, I was ready for Kiawah in December and knew what pace I had to run to qualify for Boston. Mentally, I was very concerned about my Fuzz. Her health was in a rapid decline so we took her with us to Kiawah.

I could not have asked for a better race at Kiawah. It was perfect running weather. I drank and ate my Gu at the appropriate times and everything just came together. At mile 20 I knew my time would be close so I gave it my all. The feeling of seeing the finish line and my finish time was indescribable. I never could have dreamed I could have run a 3:42 (3 minutes faster than I needed). I was on cloud nine, for sure the second best moment of my running career.

That night. Fuzz's health continued to deteriorate and by the next morning she no longer could use her front legs or lift her head. Our drive from Kiawah back to Gastonia seemed like it took hours longer than normal. Jim and I knew in our hearts that we were losing our little dog.

Fuzz died the following morning, almost 17 years to the day that we brought her home. I will always find it ironic that my greatest running accomplishment was finishing that first race so I could get my Fuzz and my second greatest running accomplishment was qualifying for Boston just before I lost my Fuzz.

I am still running because I have the 2001 Boston Marathon in April. Jim & I both think of Fuzz often especially when we come home from our runs and there is not a little dog to great us and walk with us during our cool down.