On The Scene
E.R. nurse Janet Funk shares her experience raising $6,000 for diabetes research by running the Iceland marathon.
Thanks so much Sarah and skyn ICELAND for helping me reach my goal of running a marathon in Reykjavik, Iceland for Team Diabetes.
I am an E.R. Nurse in Vancouver, Canada, and I deal with the devastating effects of diabetes everyday. I wanted to raise money for research and awareness.
My grandparents were born in Iceland many years ago. My grandfather was born in 1871 and immigrated on the second boat out to Canada. My grandmother was also born in Iceland and was 30 years younger than my grandfather. My grandparents passed away long ago, but my mother is very proud of her Icelandic heritage. Last December we found out she had breast cancer. She was going to go through surgery and radiation therapy. Since I was going to be with her during her treatment, I wanted something that we could focus on that was fun. My mother and my grandmother are amazing, wonderful people and I wanted to celebrate them. I am so grateful for the mother Iceland gave me.
The next week at my running group a poster went up to run a marathon in Iceland for Team Diabetes. I had only done 10k running and never even dreamed about doing a marathon but it was the perfect thing to do. So that is how I got involved in Team Diabetes. I raised $6,000 for diabetes, and committed to do a marathon.
During mom's radiation and surgery, she would talk about Iceland and she would get me information on Iceland and she got old photos of my grandparents. My mom had few complications from surgery and she was amazing she had so much stamina, never complained, always smiled and worried that everyone else was okay. She has a true Viking spirit, she was a real inspiration for my training. She is now cancer free and I have learned so much about my family, my mother and myself.
The Fire and Ice Marathon took place in Reykjavik on a beautiful Saturday in August. The run coincides with the Cultural Festival in Iceland, the streets are packed with people and there are singers and cultural events throughout the capital city. The streets are jammed and at 2300hr they have fireworks. The party goes on all night. And can the Icelandic people party!! We were still hearing the club OPUS playing music until 5am (not unusual for them).
On the day of the race, the course took us through the city and along the seawall. In the morning the waves from the North Atlantic were crashing against the seawall, the wind was behind me and the sun was shining. I felt strong and determined.
The next third of the race the rain came and so did the hill. I thought about the people that had to live through challenges everyday, like people with diabetes.
The last third of the race returned us to the seawall and the sun came out again. The air was unbelievably fresh. I felt strong right until the end and finished feeling great. It was an awesome experience.
I would like to thank skyn ICELAND for their amazing support. When I asked if skyn ICELAND would like to help, Sarah, the company president e-mailed me personally encouraging me and helped with my fundraising efforts without hesitation. It was such a wonderful response. I'll send along pictures of me at the finish line and with my medal when they come.
Thank you again,
Janet Funk