Finishing a race for others

With less than a mile to go in her marathon, Kelly Morton wanted to quit. Her body was tired, her face flushed and her muscles ached.

After more than three hours on the indoor rowing machine, she was nearing her limit. Her strokes per minute ranged between 29 and 31 as she glided back and forth on a seat. Steady but slowing.

Yet Morton was determined to complete a marathon -- a 26.2 mile distance -- as her contribution to the upcoming Relay for Life.

As she rowed Wednesday, she remembered friends who have been diagnosed with or died from cancer. She recited their names as she pushed herself the last 600 meters of the marathon.

She still felt like quitting.

"I know I'm not going to, but I want to," she told her friend, Michaele Riley. Riley, ever the encourager, picked up a small, electric fan so Morton could feel a cool breeze. Riley handed her a sports bottle filled with orange Gatorade and told her to keep going.

Riley heads a fund-raising team for the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life, and Morton's rowing accomplishment puts the team in the top percentage for money donated.

And by finishing the marathon in three hours and 50 minutes, Morton now ranks in the top fifteen of world rowers.

"I didn't care if it took five hours," Morton said after she finished. "The first goal was just to finish."

But then she "upped the ante" and decided that the marathon would be the perfect opportunity to help raise awareness about the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life.

In years past, Morton has joined friends on the Bev's Bravehearts relay team and walked throughout the night, but other commitments will keep her away this year.

The Relay for Life begins with a victory lap for cancer survivors at 6 p.m. Friday at Cape County Park North. A luminaria walk starts at 9 p.m. and the relay continues until 6 a.m. Saturday

Morton has always been healthy and able to exercise. She's tried swimming, yoga and weight lifting and cycling. Rowing is her latest challenge. She has trained since December.

"I don't know what it's like to not be healthy," she said. During a row, she does know what it's like to have sore muscles and think she can't continue. She uses those feelings as her motivation for rowing.

Posters, cards and balloons lined the wall near the rowing machine where she was situated on the gym floor.

Cheerleading friends came to watch as Morton got closer to the end of her marathon distance. "They were hysterical, with their pompoms and little cheers" she said.

But the cheerleading and encouragement came just when she needed it. "I'd hit the wall right before that so they couldn't have come at a better time."

Timing was essential for Morton once she committed to the rowing marathon. She had been training since December, learning proper techniques and trying new workouts. About a month ago, she sent out letters to every person she knew asking for contributions for Relay for Life. She collected about $2,000, much more than if she'd just asked people for donations to walk.

Andrea Story of the local American Cancer Society chapter said people do all sorts of activities to help raise money for cancer research and education. This year's relay will double in size over previous years, with 56 teams participating.

"Our slogan is that it takes the community to take up the fight," Story said. In Cape Girardeau County, nearly 99 percent of the people who participate in the relay are there because their lives have been personally touched by someone who was diagnosed with cancer or who died from the disease, she said.

The same is true for Morton. A longtime friend in Michigan recently died after a second bout with leukemia. She's always walked on a team with her friend, Bev Banks, who had breast cancer.

Getting ready for a rowing marathon isn't exactly like preparing for a running marathon. "It's a total body workout" to row for 26.2 miles, Morton said.

Maintaining a good pace and keeping the proper technique is crucial. She maintained a steady pace between 29 and 31 strokes per minute as she rowed on Wednesday. To prepare herself for the marathon, she finished two half-marathons and rowed at least 500,000 meters or the equivalent of 350 miles during her training period.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126