What does the appendix have against marathons?

This is a photo of Sarah and Ryan Shay, a pair of brother and sister runners whose stories I have followed in Runners World and various other running media for awhile now. In 2007, Ryan Shay (who was 28) dropped dead from heart failure during the Olympic marathon trials, held on the same course as the NYC marathon. In the years since her brother has died, Sarah Shay has gone through a divorce and been diagnosed with lupus.

Faced with all of this misfortune, what did Sarah Shay decide to do? Run a marathon for charity! As she shares in this article, she had a dream during one of her lowest periods in which her brother encouraged her through a difficult race. With her brother as her inspiration, she ran her first marathon in February and raised $13,000 for a charity that supports wounded veterans. The response to her efforts spurred her on enter the 2010 NYC marathon with the goal of raising $26,200. During that marathon, she would run past the exact spot where her brother died. Just as Katie and I set out to finish Dr. Murray's marathon, Sarah Shay wanted to finish her brother's. On November 4th, she told the New York Daily News: "I'll be excited and proud to run this marathon - one that (my brother) didn't get to finish... And in the end I will probably be bawling my eyes out."

Naturally, I can relate to this story and I have followed it with great interest. Unfortunately, I can now relate to it even more. As reported in this article, Sarah Shay started experiencing stomach pain on the morning before the marathon, and had to have an emergency appendectomy that night. She didn't get to run her race. When I read about this, my heart broke for her. I can recall perfectly the moment in late August when a doctor told me that my stomach pain was appendicitis and I thought I might not be able to run my race. I remember thinking about all of the people who were following my training and giving money to my cause, as well as all the hard work I had already put in, and I could not imagine not being able to run. I am so grateful that I was able to recover and get back in the game, and my heart goes out to Sarah Shay.

I hope that Sarah Shay will recover as quickly and fully as I did, and I really hope that she will be able to achieve her dream of finishing the NYC marathon in 2011. I put my name in the lottery for that race already, so if all the stars align, I might be there to cheer her on! I think a resounding chant of "Take that, appendix!" will be in order.

If you would like to donate to Sarah Shay's campaign, you can learn more about it at her website, http://www.runningforryan.com/.