Michele DeVinney does not particularly enjoy running, but she “does it anyway.” Michele is a friend of the organization and volunteers by writing articles for our newsletter. She and her boyfriend Mike recently finished a half-marathon in September 2010 at the Fort4Fitness in Fort Wayne, Ind. After they finished the race, Michele felt relieved knowing the race was over, but said she would enjoy running a longer race next year.

With the encouragement of her boyfriend, Michele decided to run the Chicago marathon in October 2011. Two other members of her family, her brother Rob and niece Shannon, also hopped on board and are training for the marathon coming up in October.

Michele feels grateful to know she comes from a healthy family and has never encountered life-threatening illnesses. Unfortunately, some of Michele’s friends have experienced grave illnesses. She admires how her friends have so much happiness and the extent to how much they value life.

As a tribute to her friends with these life-threatening illnesses, Michele plans to partner with Cancer Services of Northeast Indiana in an effort to use her Chicago marathon experience as a fundraiser to fund and support the CSNI mission.

To read Michele’s blog and support her vision, visit http://michelesmarathon.wordpress.com/.