Running Strong: Stephanie’s Story
“I knew my dad would be watching over me during the race and pushing me to finish strong.”
Stephanie Bauer’s father didn’t get the chance to watch his daughter race on CSC’s Strides for Hope team that April, but she knew he was there. For he had been diagnosed with liver cancer. He didn’t say much about his diagnosis. In fact, he didn’t really discuss his illness with Bauer until just a few months before he died.
But if he didn’t talk to his daughter about his cancer, he did discuss it with his supporters at CSC. “He told me that he had joined a support group at the Cancer Support Community,” said Bauer. “He really enjoyed going and meeting people who were dealing with the same illness.”
And as critical as CSC was for him, it was equally for Bauer. “It gave me great peace to know that he went there, so that he would not be so alone.”
Wanting to give back to the organization that had done so much for her father through its free programming, Bauer joined the Strides for Hope training team in 2011. Shortly after training started, her father passed away.
“Everyone on the team was very supportive as I dealt with my grief. I also received sympathy cards from the members of my dad’s support group. All of this enabled me to keep running and training with the team even when it became more difficult.”
Bauer continues to support Strides for Hope, serving as event co-chair for 2012.
Strides for Hope is a training team in which participants of all abilities, receive professionally led instruction to help them prepare to participate in a half marathon or 5K. In exchange for the training, runners raise money to support the Cancer Support Community’s free programs, which include support groups, educational programs and stress-reduction activities.
