Senior year of college, I lead an orientation hiking and climbing across New Hampshire. I was mostly terrified of keeping the students alive and had not foreseen anything much bigger than that happening on the trip. Summer Hammond was one of the my 8 “tripees” and to say we connected right away would be an understatement. Oh no, we weren’t super nice to each other. We had the same sarcastic, loud and friendly personality. I knew right away this girl would be a lifelong friend. Over the trip she confided in the group that she was in remission from cancer. I was pretty floored at her positivity and openness with the group.
The day we got back to campus she asked me to drive her to her routine cancer scan. I begrudgingly got up at the crack of dawn to bring her her first Dirt Cowboy latte and sent her on her way, really thinking nothing of it. When she called me hours later sobbing, I remember bolting from the classroom I was in and sprinting to her dorm. We sat crying in front of her dorm. I should probably mention now that she was crying because she was frustrated that she may not be able to balance playing soccer, taking three classes, and getting chemo. I was crying because, selfishly, I didn’t know if I was strong enough to be there next to her.
That was the essence of Summer. She had one life to live and she did everything in her power to live it to the fullest. She was never seen without a smile on her face, even when she was making fun of me in the dining hall. When she went home that winter, she came back from Logan airport and straight to my dorm with a gift for me. I opened the package to find a blue long sleeve t-shirt saying “Boston Strong” from the Boston Marathon. At this point in time I had run a half marathon, but really had never considered running a marathon, let alone something as iconic and challenging as Boston.
Two years later, Summer passed away while I was in the midst of training for my second marathon. She had a profound impact on my training, as I used it to help with the grief, and also to make myself smile while I was running. “C’mon Anoush DO BETTER,” I would hear her yell. Or, “that’s all you’ve got?” She was the kind of girl who wouldn’t understand why you didn’t want to run the mile to and from soccer practice, because soccer practice wasn’t hard enough, and your legs work, right? I wore a bracelet that said “Forever Positive” for all 26.2 miles of the Philly marathon in 2015 and had a stupid grin on my face the entire time as I repeated the mantra out loud throughout the race.
I finished the race in 3:16:28, qualifying me for the Boston Marathon by 19 minutes. Summer must’ve known before me that this was possible. Now, here I am, training for my first Boston and it is only natural that I do it in honor of her.
Running Through my 20'S 