It was a family tragedy that started Courtenay Sorge running. Three years later her love of family just won't let her stop.
Sorge will be heading to San Francisco on Oct. 20 to take part in the Nike Women's Marathon. It will be the fourth time she has run a half-marathon at the event that serves as a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of Canada.
Sorge got involved with the run and the Team in Training program that supports the cause not long after her brother Cory Hunter was diagnosed with leukemia. Unfortunately, the 31-year-old Port Coquitlam man died before he could see her complete the run.
"The first year I did it he passed away two weeks before the run, so it was hard but at the same time it was like closure," said Sorge, who grew up in Port Coquitlam but now lives in Langley.
She said her whole family now accompanies her to San Francisco for the run, and are able to watch as Hunter's face appears on the big-screen monitor with others who served to inspire the runners.
"It's definitely my way of keeping his memory alive. And our family is there, remembering. That's why it's hard not to do it," she said.
While Sorge had always been athletic, playing soccer and other sports, she had never run competitively before. She now heads out on a group run with other Team in Training members every Saturday, running by herself during the week.
"But it's tough to find time now that I'm a new mom as well," said Sorge of her one-year-old son. "He's named after my brother actually, Kayden Cory."
And besides finding time to train for the run while taking care of her son, Sorge is also actively working to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
"The fundraising is getting harder every year. The first year I raised $11,000 but it gets harder every year because you're asking the same people year after year," said Sorge, who has raised more than $27,000 since her first run and hopes to make it to $30,000 by October. "Every year I say I'm not going to do it again but it's so inspiring once you're down there that I end up signing up again."
To help Sorge's fundraising efforts, visit http://tinyurl.com/runnike2013.
