There are times in one’s life when you meet someone remarkable, someone whose actions inspire respect and admiration. This past spring, I had the pleasure of interviewing Ann Marquis, mother of four children, ages 10, 7, 4 and 1, just days after she had finished her first marathon on Catalina Island. Ann Marquis is testimony that one’s own will power and the bonds of a strong family, dreams can come true.
Early in 2006, Ann’s dreams and ambitions were about to take her to a new level when she and her brothers planned the family journey of a lifetime. Their mission: to run a marathon to honor their father who was battling two primary cancers, prostate and multiple myeloma. Ronald Robison was diagnosed with cancer during the spring following 9/11 and treated at New York Presbyterian Cornell in New York City. He underwent a stem cell transplant in the fall of 2002.
The Catalina Island Marathon was an easy choice for them. Growing up on Spyglass Hill in Corona del Mar, the family home overlooked Newport Beach and the Pacific Ocean out to Catalina Island. Ann’s family often ferried to Avalon, spending the day or weekend on the island. But how could they plan a marathon around everyone’s busy schedule? With Jon residing in Boston, Richard in Hong Kong, and Adam in New York City - - all following the leadership of their father in careers in corporate financial management - - logistics would be a challenge. They also wanted to accommodate their parents. Fortunately, for all of them, including Adam’s wife, Rachel, and a friend, Tom Stone, who wanted to fly in from Colorado, the Catalina Island Marathon, scheduled for mid-March, accommodated their busy schedules.
Ann had been involved in Momentum 4 Life for the past five years, taking last summer off for the birth of her youngest son, Marcus. Momentum 4 Life, based in Santa Barbara and founded by Dawn Schroeder, is a national organization devoted to helping individuals, families and communities. M4L brings people together to train for challenging events. M4L allows a single person the opportunity to begin a chain reaction of positive results beginning with themselves.
Ann had trained for shorter runs and sprint triathlons by never a marathon. Because Marcus was born by cesarean in early June, Ann was instructed to wait six weeks before she could exercise. “Right at six weeks, I went out for a two mile run; which was the beginning of my training for the Santa Barbara Half Marathon in November of 2005. I trained with Momentum 4 Life coach Karen Kistler for the Half and then with Kelly Park of Platinum Performance for the marathon. The day I started running longer distances - - five miles and more - - my weight started to come down.” By marathon week, Ann was back down to her pre-pregnancy weight.
With the help of Kelly Park and some training runs with running partners Michelle Greer, Mo Chambers, Stephanie Stokes, and Mo Chambers, Ann started to increase her mileage. By the beginning of the year, she was running 23-28 miles per week. Then came a minor setback. Nursing all four children through a series of illnesses during the month of January, Ann fell ill herself and was unable to train for two weeks. Undaunted, she was soon back to her training and running better than ever. Three weeks before race day, Ann completed her longest run of 18 miles, a first for her. Each step of the way along the journey, she thought about her father – this was for him. His encouragement and his own personal challenge inspired her to persevere. She recalls, “I felt I had done my homework; I felt prepared; and now I was mentally and physically ready to go.”
Her brothers flew in from Hong Kong and the east coast; family and friends congregated in Newport Beach two nights before the marathon. The night before the marathon, Ann and the marathon team anxiously anticipated the early boat ride on the Catalina Island Express to Two Harbors, the start of the point to point marathon. Rain had soaked the hills, completely saturating the ground. They all wondered if they would be running in the rain, but at 4:00am on Saturday morning, they woke to clear skies. The ocean was rough with the crossing to Two Harbors. The wooden dock that transported the passengers from boat to shore was bouncing up and down as the runners disembarked and proceeded to the muddy starting line.
I asked Ann how she felt while standing at the starting line, waiting for the official start to the race. “It was definitely overwhelming, beginning with the 5:00am ferry over to the other side of the island. I remember looking out the window of the boat, STRAIGHT UP at the mountains, thinking, ‘What did I get myself into?’ Once we landed in Two Harbors my nerves settled a bit, only for a moment until I saw the mud. I was completely trained for the race, but how do you train for mud?” But after five miles, “it turned out not to be so bad and we literally got through it!”
After the first five miles, which alternated between single track trails and the fire road, the marathon course continued to follow the only road across the island. With every grueling uphill, came downhill relief and stunning views along the rocky coastline, including vistas out to the west across the Pacific Ocean. Unlike most marathons, this race was not lines with spectators shouting encouragement; instead runners smiled with the occasional herd or solo bison standing nonchalantly along the side of the road, vestiges of the Westerns filmed on the island years ago.
Ann fondly recalled a moment a mile marker eight, “My brother and I were passing a group of four men running together. We noticed that one man was holding another man’s arm. We realized that he was blind and was running THIS MARATHON. Talk about inspiration! That was a jolt of motivation for us.”
The marathon was about running each mile and looking for the top of the hill and knowing that a downhill was likely to follow. Each new view, each curve in the road offered the momentum to keep going toward the town of Avalon.
At mile 13 Ann recalls, “My brother and I came up on Jon, who had started with the walking group (due to some injuries from training for the marathon, he, Adam, Rachel, and Tom started earlier than we did). We were so stoked to see him and then another 100 yards up the road we saw Adam and Rachel. It was another huge boost to see each other!”
At mile 22 Ann and her brother, Rich, reached the final aid station. With Van Halen playing on her iPod, she grabbed a handful of M&M’s and was relieved to see the city of Avalon in the distance. At this point the course took a slight dip and then climbed again one last time before finishing with a long, winding downhill. Ann’s final mile took her along the streets of Avalon to the waterfront where her waiting family cheered as she crossed the finish line in 4:49.
Ann said, “My brother, Rich, and I ran in together. We immediately saw our dad and gave him the sweatiest hug ever! Seeing my father at the finish line felt like he and I had come full circle for all the times he was there for me as a child - - for MY ups and downs in life. I had just experienced a very symbolic race that showed him my ultimate support in all that he does and did for me. ‘DAD, I AM HERE FOR YOU!’ So as I threw my arms around him and my brother joined me, I didn’t want to let go. We didn’t say much other than ‘We love you, Dad!’”
“I remember thinking how strange it was to come to a complete stop after running for so long. It was very surreal to think that I had just finished a marathon. Being with my family, experiencing the beauty of Catalina Island and finishing one of the most challenging events in my life, in honor of my father, who each day, exemplifies strength and endurance - - these memories and feelings will last a lifetime.”
Ann and her brother with her mom and dad waited for the rest of the family and friends to run to the finish line. “Once all six of us had come through the finish line we all huddled around him and cheered for our dad. It was a moment I will never forget.”
The Catalina Island Marathon proved to be an incredible adventure and a perfect moment for a family to share their love and dreams for and with each other. Since March, Ann’s father’s cancer is maintained with daily medicines and monthly steroids. Ann recently completed the Pacific Grove Triathlon, an Olympic distance race (1 mile swim, 24 mile bike and 6 mile run). Motivated by her father and the mission of Momentum 4 Life, Ann was able to take the dream of running her first marathon and inspire her family to come together on Catalina Island and create a lasting memory for all of them. (written March, 2006)