I have a few adjectives to describe running coach Marie Jarrell, based on one telephone conversation we had a few days back.
She’s enthusiastic. Marie can’t talk enough about the dedication by the athletes on her Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training (TNT), which will be competing Sunday’s Chicago Marathon.
She’s inspiring. Marie didn’t just battle breast cancer, she refused to yield even a tiny percentage of her life to it.
She’s motivated. From the first $3,600 Jarrell raised at her first marathon, she is all in to provide whatever it takes to find a cure for leukemia and other blood cancers
But one of her team members, Hannah Hayes, nailed it with an expertise I can’t touch.
“Marie is the whole package,” said Hayes, a lymphoma survivor herself. “She’s encouraging. She understands the mission. She’s very smart about form, about getting you through the tough times.
“She’s not just there. She is fully supportive of everything we do. She’s amazing.”
Indeed, there is something special about the 53-year-old New Lenox resident, who’s in her 14th year as part of the TNT organization.
Our story begins in the summer of 2002, when Jarrell began training to become a marathon runner.
“I was coming off some bad stuff in my life,” she said. “I figured if I was going to start running, I might as well do it as a charity.
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“I had heard of Team In Training. It had a reputation of being the biggest and best charity program.”
She made a good choice. TNT has raised more than $1.4 billion for cancer research.
Jarrell made her debut at the Disney Marathon in Orlando, Fla.
“I had to raise $3,600, but I wasn’t sure what good it would do,” Jarrell said. “When we were in the room with Team In Training members who had (as a team) raised $7.1 million, I thought, ‘Now that can really do something. This is the real deal.'”
Jarrell ran in the 2003 Chicago Marathon, before joining TNT as a coach for the South Krewe team. For the past 13 years, from May until October, she and about 25-30 team members have met to train each Saturday at either Hickory Creek in New Lenox or Midlothian Reservoir in Oak Forest.
Jarrell’s dedication to raising money for cancer research took a personal turn in the spring 2014, when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
“I was in Florida cheering on some friends who were doing a triathlon for Team In Training,” she said. “I was by the pool when I got the call.”
Her reaction wasn’t what you might expect. But again, maybe you would if you knew Marie Jarrell.
“I told my friends, ‘I’ll be back next year to do the triathlon,'” she said. “It was so crazy. I didn’t know what was going to happen, but that’s what I said.”
Jarrell had surgery that July 2 at Christ Hospital. The following Wednesday, at a Team In Training workout, Jarrell was there.
“It was my way to not let cancer take that away from me,” she said.
Jarrell never missed a training session the entire summer. After her third chemotherapy, she coached the team at the Chicago Marathon.
She showed up at the event, bald and proud. She had all of the South Krewe team members’ names written in ink on her head. Team members wore pink ribbons on their shirts.
Marie stationed herself at the 24-mile mark. She was met with high fives, lots of tears, lots of love, and determination by all of the team members who powered out the final two miles.
The following spring she did that triathlon, just like she promised.
Through the years, Jarrell has personally raised more than $100,000 for cancer research. She has coached more than 1,000 runners. One of them is Denise Caparula, who will be running her second marathon on Jarrell’s team.
She had her own set of adjectives when asked to describe Jarrell.
“Marie is terrific,” Caparula said. “She’s so supportive. With her background, she can address any challenges that you have. And she’s the best cheerleader.
“There are so many days that she’s out there and doesn’t feel well, and she’s there for us still. She powers through. She’s a reminder of what we’re out there running for.”
It won’t matter where they finish. They will all be winners.
Twitter @tbaranek