Mother runner Erika Spracher of Simpsonville, SC, is running for herself--and something bigger, too.

Mother runner Erika Spracher of Simpsonville, SC, is running for herself–and something bigger, too.

I started running several years ago as an outlet, a stress relief of life. I completed my first half-marathon in 2009, and am currently training for half-marathon #6 and marathon #2. I used to run for myself and by myself.

Last spring I joined my local chapter of Moms Run This Town where I met some of the most caring, encouraging, and loving mother runners and friends. I also discovered an amazing organization called I Run For which matches runners and athletes with special needs children and adults who cannot run for themselves. On July 31, 2013 I was matched with a boy named Dylan who has Down Syndrome. On that day, running changed for me. I was no longer running for myself. I was running for Dylan and Down Syndrome Awareness.

On April 21, 2014, running changed for me again. My son David was diagnosed with a bilateral Wilm’s tumor (kidney cancer) at his 4-year-old checkup.  Running remains a very important outlet for me, as well as a time of prayer for my little cancer-butt-kicking warrior. When David had his first round of chemo, I promised myself that I would do all of my runs with his Super D cape flying on my back for the duration of his treatments. So now with Dylan’s name on my shirt, and my Super D cape on my back, I run for Down Syndrome and Childhood Cancer Awareness.

So what’s the most important mile of my life? Right now, it’s every mile. Every mile that I am given the opportunity to feel my legs move beneath me and bring awareness to these two conditions, those are my most important miles.

What was (or will be) the most important mile of your life? We want to know.

This is an ongoing feature on the website. Best way to submit is to email us your story with a picture: runmother {at} gmail {dot} com with “Most Important Mile” in the subject line. Please try to keep your mile stories under 300 words. Thank you!