OPT Visionary - Spring/Summer 2013

THE V ISIONARY • S PRING /S UMMER 2013 — 26 By Dedra Ling, O.D. My dad, who was an officer in the Army, started training for his first Chicago marathon when I was 8 years old and he was 40. He inspired me to start running, so my older brother and I began training for a one-mile race, and all three of us exercised together. The excitement of the race and the adrenaline was intoxicating; I loved feeling the en- ergy of the crowd. In middle school, I joined the cross-country and track teams and continued with track and field into high school. My favorite race was the 200-meter dash, but I mostly ran the 400 meter and the 4 x 400-meter relay. Unfortunately, during undergrad and optometry school, my running went to the back burner while I focused on school. I was reintroduced to running during my senior year at NSUCO when my roommate ran a marathon with minimal training and encouraged me to take on the challenge. My dad had always dreamed that our family would run a marathon with him, but none of us had ever considered running a race that long and daunting. In 2009, my dad served a one-year tour in Afghanistan, and during that tour my family and I vowed that when he returned, we would run a race with him. My sister, brother, and mom trained for and ran the Chicago half marathon (13.1 miles), while my boyfriend, my dad, and I ran the Chicago marathon (26.2 miles). The longest distance I had ever consistently run was about 15 miles, but my dad, at age 58, contin- ued to inspire me and finished the marathon in less than 4.5 hours. My boyfriend and I stayed together for the first 13 miles (about two hours) before our paces separated us. At mile 18, the overwhelming pain and exhaustion took over and I started walk- ing. I started to alternate between running and walking, with every muscle in my body hurting with over eight miles remaining. With two miles remaining, I heard an encour- aging voice behind me shout, “You better start running or you won’t finish in time!” I was in disbelief when I turned around and saw my boyfriend. We crossed the finish line together with less than 10 minutes remaining before they closed the race. It was the most difficult yet fulfill- ing feat I have ever accomplished, but I would never have done it without my father’s inspiration. After moving to Key West, I decided to con- tinue running and joined the Key West South- ernmost Runners Club (KWSRC), where I eventually became the leader of the weekday 6:00 a.m. runs. When Runner’s World magazine contacted the KWSRC about a photo shoot in the Florida Keys, I immediately volunteered. The goal was for the shot to be at sunrise and at- tempt to capture the beauty and serenity of run- ning on the bridge that parallels the Seven Mile Bridge and goes out to Pigeon Key. I was ec- static when Runner’s World called to interview me and let me know the two-page spread would be featured in the April 2013 issue—the month of my 30 th birthday. Runner’s World made the picture its cover photo for Facebook and received over 1,500 likes and over 100 comments within a couple of hours. Running Makes a World of Difference to 2009 Alumna Dr. Dedra Ling