Running for My Father & Shelter Pets (& Myself)

As many of you know, my wonderful father, Clive Hoffman, passed away on November 27. As my dad’s health began to decline more rapidly around summer 2022, it became increasingly difficult for me to fulfill all of my commitments, especially those to myself. Running, however, is one aspect of my life that I fought hard to keep up with as my responsibilities shifted. Despite having to drop out of the New York Marathon in both 2022 and 2023 – a dream race (for which I trained hard to qualify) – I knew if I let running go altogether, it would be very difficult – perhaps impossible – to come back to at a future date. And I knew that would be personally devastating, as running has become deeply woven into my life over the last decade. In addition to the health benefits, running is intertwined to a great extent with my social life and altruistic pursuits. I’ve been running marathons for charity – and making like-minded friends as a result – since 2014. Although it has been impossible for me to run consistently over the last 18 months, I worked it into my life whenever I could.

After my dad entered the hospital in early October, being there for my family consumed almost all of my time and energy. However, I was still committed to running the 2024 LA Marathon on March 17 to help raise funds for Angel City Pit Bulls – something I’ve done every spring since 2016. As you all know, I care deeply for animals, and helping animals, who can’t advocate for their own protection and well-being, has been my motivation to train for this big race year after year.

My first team run of the current training season was on the morning before my father died. It was a painful run in every conceivable way. Not only was I totally out of shape, I had to stop every few minutes because I was crying and having a hard time breathing. Eventually I said to myself, ‘I can’t do this!’ At that point, I quit my run. As I walked back to my car, a thought – almost magically – entered my mind: this year, run for animals and dad! Something inside of me must have known that I needed to make the LA Marathon in 2024 also about my father or I wouldn’t be able to do it. After my run, I visited my dad and relayed this to him. Although my dad struggled to talk during the last few weeks of his life, he said “thank you” and he hugged me. What I didn’t know that day was that would be the last hug I got from my dad, as he passed away the next morning. Despite my grief, I feel lucky that I got the chance to tell him this.

Although my father developed Parkinson’s a few years ago, his primary cause of death was bladder cancer that had metastasized to lymph nodes in his chest. So, in addition to Angel City Pit Bulls , I have chosen to run the 2024 LA Marathon to raise funds for bladder cancer research at Cedars-Sinai, where my dad was a patient. Thanks to Dr. David Hoffman, these funds will be earmarked specifically for the work of Dr. Dan Theodorescu, director of Cedars-Sinai Cancer Center and a world-famous bladder cancer research scientist. Coincidentally, Angel City Pit Bulls also has a Cedars connection: its founder and executive director, Katie Larkin, is a pediatric ICU nurse at Cedars.

Each donation I receive will be split equally between Angel City Pit Bulls and Dr. Theodorescu’s cancer research at Cedars. This will allow me to fulfill my personal wish for this year’s LA Marathon, which is to both continue to support an animal charity that is near and dear to me, as well as honor my father’s memory in a meaningful way. After the marathon on March 17, I will distribute the funds 50 / 50 (I will also share receipts from both organizations as proof that all monies raised were evenly split between the two non-profits, less GoFundMe's fees). Hopefully, with your support, this St. Patrick’s Day will turn into pots of gold for bladder cancer patients and homeless pets.

Please know that your support is also helping me on my healing journey and is appreciated more than I could ever say.

Thank you,

Jill