When the cancer finally won, Wendy Newman wanted to die, too.
Her husband, Mike, her partner of nearly three decades, had battled the rare and aggressive triple-hit lymphoma on and off for more than two years — two long stays at the Huntsman Cancer Institute, one triumphant all-clear, and then one tragic relapse — before he passed away at their home in Moab just before Christmas. His death left his wife heartbroken and searching.
“I wanted to go too,” she says. “Running saved me.”
On Saturday, the Moab woman will be among the 7,000 or so people to run in one of the seven events that make up the Salt Lake Marathon. Some will run 5 kilometers. Others will endure the full marathon’s 26.2 miles.
For Wendy Newman, the half will be a chance to feel whole.
“It just meant so much to him,” Wendy says. “I know he would want me to do the race and finish it. He’ll be watching me.”
The Newmans were training for a half marathon in San Diego when Mike was diagnosed with cancer in August of 2016. His chemotherapy required long stays in the hospital and there, saddled with stress, Wendy Newman went looking for an outlet. That’s when she found the Huntsman Hometown Heroes, a group of runners that trained and fund-raised together for cancer research.
“I didn’t know anybody in Salt Lake and it was just wonderful,” she says. “A lot of my teammates had cancer or were survivors; it had touched all their lives as well. Sometimes it’s good just to have people around you.”
SALT LAKE MARATHON<br>When • Saturday, 7 a.m.<br>Start • Olympic Legacy Bridge, University of Utah<br>Finish • Library Square
When she returned to Moab, she stayed connected with the group, staying on the same training schedule. With Mike’s cancer in remission, the Newmans both started training for the 2017 Salt Lake Marathon, Wendy aiming to run the 13.1-mile half marathon and Mike planning to rollerblade the course. And when the cancer returned and took her husband’s life, the training kept Wendy Newman going.
“Honestly, if I didn’t have the training for this race, it would be really hard to get out of bed,” she says.
Now she runs the hills in her Spanish Valley neighborhood, or along the red rock walls that line the Colorado River.
“I found out you can’t run and cry at the same time,” she says. “If you’re doing something that requires regular breathing, it’s impossible to break down and cry at the same time.”
The Salt Lake Marathon is celebrating 15 years and over that time the event has helped raise more than $6 million for the Huntsman Hometown Heroes. Before the races start on Saturday, organizers will honor some of the runners and the donors who have contributed to the cause. That is race director Steve Bingham-Hawk’s favorite moment of the day.
“It connects things,” he says. “You can get really caught in the weeds — putting out fires, ordering toilets, cleaning up the trash — and then you hear why we’re all out here. … Stories like that really help connect it with us. These events are amazing but what’s cool about the marathon is the journey you have to take to get there and how it connects you with life.”
The starting line will be an emotional place for Wendy Newman, too.
“I am so worried about the starting line,” she says. “I haven’t seen Huntsman or the U. or that neighborhood since he left the hospital for hospice. That start and having the hospital in my line of sight, that’s going to be hard.”
The emotions will stay with her the rest of the race.
“You have a lot of time to think about people when you’re doing these runs,” she says.
During her training, she likes to pick a different person to meditate on for each mile. On Saturday, that may be different.
“It’s going to be a really emotional run for me,” she said. “This one is for Mike. I’m probably going to be thinking about Mike the whole time.”
