By Sue Wambolt, Contributing Writer
Westborough – Trish Reske is a mother of four, a humanitarian, an award-winning freelance writer, a business owner and an eight-time Boston Marathon runner. On Monday, April 16, she will hit the pavement again, running alongside 28 other teammates from the “Alzheimer's Association Run for the Memory” in the 113th Boston Marathon.
Reske runs year-round. She doesn's own a treadmill or have a gym membership. Rather, she does all of her running outdoors, even in the cold. Reske has found that running in the winter is a great way to chase away “cabin fever” or the winter blues.
To train for the Marathon, she runs four times a week, with a cumulative distance of anywhere between 25 and 40-plus miles a week. For her “long runs” on the weekends, Reske joins her Alzheimer's team members in Newton and together they train on the Boston Marathon course beginning and ending on Heartbreak Hill.
“I's so thankful for the Alzheimer's team,” said Reske. “They are an amazing, inspiring and fun group of runners. To each one I wish a Marathon they will always remember. And as for me – well – Mom, this one's for you.”
Running for the Alzheimer's Association Run for the Memory team holds a very personal meaning for Reske, who lost her mother to the disease in 2008.
Many runners on the Alzheimer's team have similar stories. They run the Boston Marathon for reasons far beyond the challenging 26.2-mile course. For them, it means much more.
“It's our way of honoring, remembering and cheering on loved ones with Alzheimer's,” said Reske, “It's a way to raise awareness about Alzheimer's and much-needed funding that goes toward Alzheimer's care, treatment, and, one day, a cure.”
Reske's mother lived for 10 years with Alzheimer's. It is a disease, she said, that has been called the “biggest public crisis Americans are not talking about.”
According to Reske, Alzheimer's is the sixth-leading cause of death in the country and the only cause of death among the top 10 in the United States that cannot be prevented, cured or even slowed. Five and a half million Americans are currently diagnosed, she said, adding that this number is expected to triple or quadruple over the next few decades, as many – possibly as many as one in eight – Baby Boomers are diagnosed.
“In reality, my mom's marathon with Alzheimer's disease was far more lengthy, difficult and demanding than anything I have ever experienced. Her path was difficult, painful and the finish line a cruel certainty,” Reske said.
In addition to running the Marathon, Reske runs the “Reach the Beach Relay with Alzheimer's” every fall. She is also part of the communications task force for the Alzheimer's MA/NH Chapter, and a communications consultant for the Run for the Memory program, the sports endurance program with the MA/NH Chapter.
Reske is hoping to raise $4,000 for Alzheimer's research. To read more about her personal story with Alzheimer's go to http://www.trishreske.com/?p=401.
If you are interested in supporting her effort, visit http://alz.kintera.org/boston2012/trish.