‘Don’t put off the things you want to do in life’: Kathryn Kozak is running Boston in honor of her Uncle Jay
"I cannot imagine a better way to honor my uncle than by heeding his lesson and finally running the Boston Marathon."
In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon runners share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your story here.
Name: Kathryn Kozak
Age: 36
From: APO, AE, USA
Don’t put off the things you want to do in life. This is the message my uncle, Jay Matheny, impressed upon me the last time I saw him.
He was dying of cancer at age 56, and a door was closing on the dreams he and his family had allocated into a neat pile of “somedays.”
The vacation after his kids graduated from high school, the new hobby for when he and my aunt retired, and even mundane projects like cleaning out the basement once seemed inevitable. Suddenly, in the most egregious and violating way, cancer rendered them obsolete.
While crushing, the advice from my Uncle Jay was given with the unique clarity only a dying person can have.
It made me reflect. I’ve been fortunate to achieve so many of my goals, but one perennially ended up in my own pile of somedays. Cheering from the sidelines at the Boston Marathon has been the highlight of my year for decades, and I always imagined a time when I’d be on the other side of the fence.
In September 2022, the first opportunity after my uncle’s passing, I submitted my charity runner application to Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. Choosing Dana-Farber was easy; my uncle was treated there, received exceptional care, and benefitted from clinical trials that surely prolonged his life. The money I’m raising for Dana-Farber will fund more of the innovative research that gave my uncle extra time for his somedays.
Eventually, their research will defy cancer entirely. I cannot imagine a better way to honor my uncle than by heeding his lesson and finally running the Boston Marathon.
He’s with me every single training mile I run. I imagine him helping me along…with a considerable dose of loving heckling mixed in. That’s my spirited Uncle Jay.
Editor’s note: This entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.
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