Cory's Run: San Francisco to Idaho

Cory in San Francisco

My name is Cory Henderson. I live in Shoreline and this summer I am running from San Francisco to New York City in a relay fundraiser with 22 other college-aged individuals. The trip is with the Ulman Cancer Fund for Young Adults with the mission to spread hope and support to all young adults affected by cancer. I am personally running this summer because I lost my father to cancer in 2014. I officially became a part of this fundraiser in December of 2015 and trained for the next five months till the run would arrive.

~~~~

I can’t believe that the run is finally here! We have reached day eight and it has been such a blast every day. We have been going non-stop since the minute I landed in San Francisco a few days before Send-off. The first day of the run arrived with a bright and early morning start at 5:00am. We left our host at 6:00am and arrived at Crissy Beach for breakfast and a small ceremony before our journey began. We all wrote who we were dedicating our day of running to on our legs with Sharpie and kept them on for the whole day. I dedicated my first day to my father. It never registered in my head that we would be leaving on Father’s day. It honestly felt really good to start the run then. I wasn't sad during the day, which felt strange to me. I was happy that I could honor my father in this way and it gave me warm feelings of love for him instead of what I was expecting.

After all of us as a team ran across the Golden Gate Bridge, we all divided into vans and drove to our specific legs of the day. Our first leg of the run started southwest of Sonoma and ended in Napa. I’m not exactly sure what the temperature was but I was nervous about the heat. Running over the Golden Gate Bridge felt comfortable because of the cool breeze. Once we were running in between the dry California hillsides, the heat became intense. I understood then how truly important it was to remain conscious about drinking water. I was really happy to run past the “Entering Napa” sign because I have heard of this place so many times and their vineyards. The view was really beautiful with rolling hillsides with Vineyards as far as you could see. I still have yet to have a glass of wine since turning 21 but running through all the rows of grapes makes me want to try it and learn about how a glass of wine is made.

My body felt great on the first day. I was really nervous about running the first couple of days because whatever happens during these days will show me how the whole trip will be. Luckily no shin splints, tweaked ankles and knees, or muscle strains have showed themselves. Now that we have a week completed in a 7-week adventure, I feel that this run can be a manageable challenge. What it takes is discipline to stay in tune with what my body is telling me. I do know though, there are challenges that will hit me both physically and mentally in the upcoming weeks. Other adventures that we have gone on make the harsh running days worth every step. In the past week we have jumped into an amazing waterfall, gave out Chemo Car-Bags to Cancer Patience at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Boise, ran (and at some points, sled!) through Lassen Volcanic National Park, and most recently went Skydiving as the sun rose up over the mountains in Idaho. I am so excited for another 40 days of this trip. I can’t wait to get to know my team more and share these experiences with them.

Thank you all who have donated or spread the word about the run! I can’t believe that I have reached over $11,900! It means so much to have all of your support and words of encouragement. If you would still like to donate you can! Here is the link to my fundraising page.

Please help me get over $12,000!