I am just day’s away from my sixth year running for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in the annual St. Jude Run. Once again this year I will be running the 153 miles from Chicago to Peoria over 36 hours relay style and I’ll do it in memory of Reagan Wednesday and all the other kids and families affected by cancer. There is nothing I wont do for St. Jude and I think I’ve proved that.

First the most obvious, running 153 miles..

But I’ve also done burpies, push ups, squats for donations…

I’ve sat outside collecting donations on hot summer days…

I’ve sold t-shirts and koozies…

Mostly I just beg and plead…

I ask everyone, I ask them again…and again…and again.

I don’t have a giant fundraising event, or a 5k or anything else to help raise money. All I have is my voice and no fear in asking…asking again…and again…and again.

I’m fairly certain I’ve been unfollowed and unliked online by many…in fact, I know I have. That’s good that people can choose not to follow me because they are annoyed by my nagging…but the families and kids with cancer, well they don’t have a choice they can’t unfollow and they can’t unlike…all the can do is fight. And keep fighting…and fighting…and fighting. One thing they can do though is rest assured that their child is in THE BEST PLACE there is for childhood cancer, they can be confident in knowing that the doctors and staff is doing everything that is humanly possible to beat their cancer. They can do all of this with out the worry of ‘how much will this cost’ which trust me is a HUUUUUGE worry. I was in those shoes, when I herd “you have cancer” my first thought was “how much will it cost to beat it?”. Parents at St. Jude don’t have that worry because 100% of EVERYTHING is given to them, they pay NOTHING! Travel, food, lodging, gas, tests, treatment every single expense is covered….because of those who give…because of YOU!

All I do is ask and put myself through a bit of punishment….remember that one time I put on a Blackhawks jersey for St. Jude….

See…nothing I wont do.

Now…what will you do?

www.peoriaruns.stjude.org/AnnaRunsForReagan

~Anna Kinkade