Team Janie

CLIFF NOTES! Team Janie is raising money for ovarian cancer research as well as Luke and Lily's college/trade school funds. Help if you can!! For those of you who like a story, read on...

Hebrews 12:1-3 And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I remember the first time I ran a “long-ish” race. It was at least ten years ago, and it was a 10K (6.2 miles). I remember realizing I was only halfway to the finish line and thinking - “I will NEVER run anything longer than this. I’m so done with running.”

Six years ago, I met a woman named Janie at the YMCA. She would care for my little girl so I could take care of my physical and mental health. I remember that she had a scarf over her head, which let me know she was battling cancer. But more than that, I remember the way her eyes glowed with love and joy in the midst of her struggles. Over the next four years, I would become closer to Janie as I watched her run a race that was thrust upon her. Her race was that of battling ovarian cancer. And, after six years of courageous fighting, her body was finally finished with the race. Her life in those six years taught all of us who cheered from the sidelines so much about running the race of life. Some of our favorite lessons were -

It doesn’t take money or a lot of prep to make memories - just say yes to the experience in spite of your to do list.

Being a good friend means laying down your hard stuff to listen and empathize with someone else’s hard stuff.

“Menial” tasks like making dinner for your family or cleaning the house are actually blessings - things you get to do to serve and love your family. Not everyone can do it.

When your body needs to rest, let it. And if you need help, let your friends help you. You will be blessed by it, but they will also be so very blessed that you trusted them in your most vulnerable state.

Even when it’s hard, trust God. Believe in His goodness and love. It will carry you through the worst of circumstances.

When Janie finished her race here on earth on September 21, 2020, she left us more than her lessons. She also passed the baton on to continue to love and check on her children as they learned to live life without her here. So, when the opportunity presented itself for us to get our Team Janie friends together to once again remember and honor her, everyone came together with a resounding, “Let’s do this!”

The idea came as I was exploring what it felt like to run more with the idea that I might run a marathon- would my body be able to handle it? Could I learn something from the discipline of showing up to train consistently? Could I take time to run out some of the feelings of grief and loss that I still felt in saying goodbye to Janie? And as I ran one of my beginning runs, one of Janie’s favorite fight songs (Rise Up by Andre Day) came on. I knew this was a challenge I needed to take. And I wouldn’t take it on without a way to honor my friend and her family and work with Team Janie to do it.

I, Jenny Gripka (one of the Jens), will physically run. The Marine Corps Marathon on Oct. 30, 2022 to be exact. And all through my training, I will channel the lessons and legacy of Janie to train beyond what I feel comfortable doing. Team Janie asks that you support our cause to give in Janie’s honor - first, specifically ovarian cancer support and research (The Ovarian Cancer Research Alliance - OCRA) and also to support Luke and Lily in the form of college/trade school money. Our goal - a total of $1,000 per mile ($26,200 total) - to be split 50% for the research and 25% each for Luke and Lily’s college/trade school funds. Thank you for taking the time to read this, and we hope you can join Team Janie to carry the baton in honor of Janie and the Johnson family!