FTK All day, Every day |
While all of our amazing dancers, committee members, and directors contribute something incredible and valuable to IUDM, every once in a while, a member of our family will do something outrageous and inspiring to remind us all what this thing is all about, and exactly why we work so hard all year-round to raise money for the kids at Riley Hospital for Children. This last week, those members were Elyse Appelblatt and Maggie Magnotta, who ran the BOOM Shakalaka Half Marathon last weekend in Indianapolis. Elyse, Culture Chair of the Public Relations committee, and Maggie, Operations Co-Chair of the Logistics committee, met through Student Athletic Board their freshman year at IU. They now serve together on SAB’s executive board, but both girls agree that their mutual passion for IUDM has brought them even closer. After last year’s Hoosier Half Marathon, the two girls joked about running a half marathon themselves. Soon, they decided the idea wasn’t so crazy after all, and they signed up for the BOOM Shakalaka Half Marathon together, which would take place just a few months later. They knew it would be hard, as neither of them were avid runners at the time of this decision, but as Elyse put it, “If it wasn’t hard, it wouldn’t have been worth doing”. They would need some serious motivation to reach their goal, but they also knew this motivation wouldn’t be hard to find. Appelblatt found her motivation and inspiration in the same place that many IUDM-ers do: through the life and legacy of Ashley Louise Crouse. “I don’t think there was any better motivation than running the half in honor of #ImForAsh,” Elyse told me. Similarly, Maggie found her inspiration and motivation in the kids at Riley, explaining, “We obviously weren’t going to do something as crazy as run a half marathon, if it wasn’t FTK”. The girls also motivated each other all summer long by sending each other “sweaty selfies” as proof that they had run that day, as well as motivational quotes and stories of other IUDM family members doing great things FTK, to motivate each other to keep going. As for during the race, Maggie found a unique way to keep herself motivated: “After reading a blog about marathon runners, I saw that people write something on their arm for each mile that keeps them going, so when I started my ’13 donations for 13 miles’ challenge, that’s what I had in mind, writing 13 names of 13 individual donors. The donations started pouring in, and every person sent me a note telling me good luck on the race.” With Ash’s legacy and four months of training together behind them, Maggie and Elyse were excited and ready to start running come race day. Before the race, they decided to listen to Casey Crouse’s Presidential Address, a speech that is near and dear to the hearts of many IUDM participants and alums. “I must have listened to that 100 times in my life,” Magnotta said, “but nothing like that moment...a sense of calm came over me.” A few of Casey’s words especially resonated with Maggie in that moment: She was with you every step of the way. “Those words kept playing in my head throughout the entire 13 miles, and helped me each time I started to doubt myself,” Maggie recalls. As the race went on, Ashley’s legacy just became more and more motivating. At mile 6, Elyse blew out her knee. “I wanted to quit a thousand times after that,” she recalls, “but every time I looked down at my #ImForAsh shirt, I was motivated to keep going”. With that strength and inspiration inside them, Elyse and Maggie finished all 13.1 miles together. Now, a week after completing their first half marathon, the girls have had plenty of time to recover and to reflect on the “indescribable” experience. Maggie says that the biggest takeaway for her was the sense of community. “The amount of love that was shown to Elyse and me on the day of the run was amazing. People from all different committees and even friends from other dance marathons, were wishing us luck,” she said. Her favorite messages of support were the ones she received during the race, telling them to keep going and that they could do this. Maggie explained, “This experience really just affirmed to me that there is so much love in this organization and people in it will support you no matter if it’s a bad day or 13 miles.” As Elyse puts it, “it was the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I’d do it again tomorrow. It was an indescribable experience to realize that your body and your mind can endure so much more than you ever thought possible”. Congratulations on finishing your first half marathon, ladies! Thanks for inspiring us every day, and always working to keep the legacy of Ashley Louise Crouse alive. FTK, RW, ALC, Kyra Strzelczyk
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