a message from terry

at approximately 10:30am on november 1st, 2006 after watching my beloved sister in law, karen hasbrouck, take her last painful breaths from years of smoking, lung cancer had finally claimed her life. watching her sister and children cling to her as she died was one of the most heartbreaking things i have ever witnessed. when i left that morning all i could think about was my own mother and sister, both smokers for years. my sister 31 years, my mom 50 plus years. both of them unsuccessful at their attempts from quitting. sometimes reality has a way of making you see just how precious life is and that although cancer is inevitable for many people, dying from cancer caused from smoking is not.
so after her death i dedicated the next 57 days in a row of running the toughest, hilliest runs i could think of as a way of honoring her life. it was through all those miles that the idea of asking god for a big favor came into play. i figured if i was going to ask for such a big thing then i should back it up with some suffering of my own. basically, i was looking for some "divine intervention" in helping my mom and sister quit smoking for good. i approached my mom who at first thought i was crazy, although she got over it quick since she's used to me being a little nuts. then i asked my sister, who already knows how crazy i am. anyway, the deal was this: i would run 135 miles through death valley in the middle of july and all they had to do was give up their smokes. my mom was hesitant for quite a while but soon warmed up to the idea although not without a promise from me to never do such a crazy run again...my sister has been slowing gearing herself up to quit and as of july 15th will hopefully be nicotine free for the rest of her life. so if all goes well, i will with the help of god survive this madness, and he will grant both my mom and sister with the will to quit.