Jeopardy Judy's Marathon

"Now that I've been on Jeopardy!, the only thing left on my bucket list is to run a full marathon."

That was one of the topics I chose for my break banter with Alex Trebek when I'd run out of things to say ("I once had a brief encounter with William Shatner" was higher up on the list).  But that was the one selected for me.

Alex was a bit dismissive on my goal. "That's a long way, Judy--26.2 miles. Are you sure you can do it?" and later "Good, we talked you out of it."

That was eight years ago and it's always bothered me that I announced on national television that I wanted to run a marathon and never followed through. 

Then I saw Cindy Stowell play seven games of Jeopardy! while suffering from Stage 4 colon cancer. She was on pain killers and had a high fever but kept winning.  I can tell you from experience that it takes a great deal of concentration to play the game. It can be exhausting for anyone, let alone someone terminally ill. 

I decided that if Cindy could win six games of Jeopardy! with Stage 4 cancer, I can put one foot in front of the other for 26.2 miles. And now that Alex has cancer as well, I knew I had to raise money for both of them.

My goal is just to finish the Wrightsville Beach Marathon on March 21, 2020. I am 63 after all. Old and slow but determined.

So why am I running this marathon? For the man who didn't think I could do it. And the woman who showed me I could.