Joe Drake - Run With It: A True Story of Parkinsons, Marathons, the Pandemic, and Love

Run With It

A True Story of Parkinsons, Marathons, the Pandemic, and Love

Joe Drake

Copyright 2022 Joe Drake

All rights reserved. Published 2022.

ISBN: 979-8-9864119-3-4

Some commercially -available products are mentioned herein. Such mentions are made without the knowledge of the products manufacturers and the author has received no compensation in return.

On April 1, 2022, well after the events described herein and before publication of this book, the author was chosen by the HOKA company to serve as a field ambassador for their product line (aka HOKA Flyer).

The author is not a physician. Any readers inspired to emulate any of his athletic pursuits are strongly advised to consult with their medical care teams beforehand.

Book cover artwork was created by Patricia Snyder.

To my wife, Lynn, who has brought me

a life filled with love and adventure.

And to my son, Aidan, and my daughter, Kinsey,

who have always made fatherhood a joy for me.

All profits from the sale of this book earned by the author will be donated to The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinsons Research.

Contents

For decades now, Ive had in my mind the idea of running a marathon. Its a thought that I suppose many runners find difficult to dismiss. The marathon has such allure: the challenge, the demonstration of fitness and courage, the bright shiny medal, the hard-earned postrace beer, and so on. Until recently, though, this idea never reached the level of a goal for me. Had it done so, I believe that I wouldve achieved it long ago. Then, it was only just an idea albeit a tenacious one.

Ive felt similarly about writing a book. At times I even started in on one. But the words never flowed freely enough to make the effort worthwhile. Character development, a compelling plot, poignant insights into human natureall these elements of a good story eluded me. My skills, it seemed, were best suited to the genre of well-crafted emails.

It took a diagnosis of Parkinsons disease to unite these disparate inclinations of mine. Life can take such magnificent and mysterious turns.

Heres another puzzle. Why is it, I ask myself, that its taken me six decades, including an engineering career immersed in science, data, and documentation, before realizing that fiction is not my strength? Writers should write of what they know. Yet, its only been in the past year that Ive heard that voice in my head say, You are living the story now. Write it down!

Ive written it down. A perfect storm of Parkinsons, vigorous exercise as an effective therapy for the disease, and the COVID-19 pandemic blew me off my quiet course into an adventure so rich and so fun that I feel its worth sharing. Along the way I stumbled onto a strategy for dealing with a pernicious disease that as yet has no cure. I hope this book resonates with those newly diagnosed with Parkinsons disease and with others who have lived with the disease for years. Theres hope for those who are willing to put in some effort.

Runners may also find this book engaging. In it I describe my transformation into a marathoner, and I detail my effort to run the World Marathon Majors amidst a world eager to emerge from a global catastrophe. Dont mistake it for a complete guide to distance running, however, as there are better resources elsewhere and I cite some of them here for those who arent already experts. To be sure, I cringe somewhat at the thought of highly experienced runners getting a hearty belly laugh at some of my mistakes. Thats not to say I dont want them to read this book. On the contrary. I would be honored if they did. I write here about how running is excellent therapy but, hey, so is laughter.

If this book were only about Parkinsons and running, however, it might never have been written. Friends, family, and other acquaintances have convinced me that theres a universal element of the inspirational also at play in my story.

Im one of those people who gets emotional when witnessing acts of courage and determination. Demonstrations of the human spirit can be profoundly beautiful. The world of sport is full of such acts.

The following come to mind:

Kerri Strug at the 1996 Olympics, her ankle badly sprained on her first vault, sticks an excruciatingly painful landing on her second attempt to clinch the gold medal for her team.

Wayne Rooney, the legendary English footballer well past his prime and now playing for the American Major League Soccer club DC United, sprints down three-quarters of the pitch to tackle an opponent on a breakaway, gets up, brings the ball back up the field himself, and sends a beautiful cross to his teammate whose header wins the game in stoppage time.

Alex Smith undergoes 17 surgeries on his horrifically mangled right leg, wills himself through an improbable rehabilitation, and comes back to quarterback his Washington Football Team to the division title.

I get choked up just reading through these last paragraphs. I feel the same way reading certain passages in this book. Im not referring to my own exploits that would be immodest. Im referring to the actions of so many heroes I met during this journey.

All of us have the ability to inspire and to be inspired.

Enjoy.

Joe Drake

Seattle, Washington

July 2022

I was in Chicagos Jackson Street transit station entering the pivotal leg of my adventurethe journey back to Boston. Timing was critical but, frustrated, I couldnt stop the minutes from slipping away. That power belonged to the Chicago Transit Authority and its fickle Blue Line L train that refused to show.

I had misjudged some key parameters. My waves start time for the Chicago Marathon was 7:30 am and I allowed for five hours to run the race. That was nearly half an hour longer than I needed in London the week before. Should have been plenty of time. But I didnt account for the 15 minutes it would take to reach the starting line once my wave was sent off. Also, the heat and humidity were even worse than during my farcical performance in the Berlin race two weeks prior. The uncooperative weather forced me to walk more of the Chicago route than I intended and, hence, five hours was not enough time after all.

All told the race ate up 30 minutes of the buffer time I gave myself for returning to OHare Airport. The wait at Jackson consumed another 30. Missing that plane would almost certainly doom my entry into the Boston Marathon the next day. Dang it! What a mess. I shouldve booked a later flight to give myself more time in Chicago. I gambled, though, thinking it imperative to get to Boston as early as possible to prepare for that race.

I ran through the timing again as the train finally pulled into Jackson. My flight on United was to depart at 3:40 pm and it was closing in on 2 oclock. Transit to the airport normally takes an hour so that left me 40 minutes to get to the gate. Is that enough time? What else could go wrong?

The day before on my way into downtown there was a work slowdown at Montrose (or was it Rosemont?) that held the train up for at least five minutes. Likely to happen on the return trip too, so the 40 minutes drops down to 35 minutes at best. Plus, the Chicago Marathon wiped me outjust walking to the station nearly did me in. I felt like shit, I couldnt walk very fast, and I wasnt thinking clearly. I figured Id be wasting 10 or so foggy minutes stumbling around OHare until I got the lay of the land. Then I would need, maybe, 15 minutes to get through security. At what point would they stop allowing passengers to board? How much time do I have left to reach the gate? Damn! If I got to the gate on time, it would be very close.

With my leg cramps and nausea and suitcase and a station full of other OHare-destined marathoners, it was a struggle to board the train and find a seat. But I did get one, fell into it, closed my eyes, head in my hands, and tried to will the train forward quickly, to make up for the lost time.