My name is Anita Kociuruba. I will be running4jac in the Boston Marathon on April 19, 2010. But I won’t be running alone, I’ll be running with the three people who have inspired me to run so many miles. Jimmy Birtalan, Audrey Wills, and Cathy Kociuruba.
I had always dreamed of running a marathon, but it wasn’t until Audrey passed away that I decided if I was going to run a marathon there may not be a better time. I began to focus my running toward reaching that goal. Before I began my actual training for that first marathon, Cathy passed away. Audrey and Cathy became my inspiration and with thoughts of them with me on every run, I completed my first Columbus marathon in 2007.
I didn’t qualify for Boston that first year. But I ran Columbus again in 2008 and this time I did qualify. I knew then that I would raise money running Boston in the memory of Audrey and Cathy so I could give back just a little of how much they gave to me.
I decided to wait until 2010 for Boston and in doing so I now have three people that I run for. Jimmy passed away this past summer. All three died too young and they are the reason that I run.
The money I raise will go to Community Services of Stark County, a non-profit social service agency located in Canton, OH. I chose Community Services because of the growing number of people needing assistance in our community. If you decide to help me raise money for Community Services, you will be running with me in Boston too.
Remember, we’re running4jac.
 Anita with her daughter, Alysa after qualifying for the Boston Marathon. |
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Jimmy died just a month after his nineteenth birthday and was only a part of our life for a short time. My daughter Brittany and Jimmy had been dating for a little over a year. He was very special in her life and was also becoming a part of our family.
Audrey was my daughter Brittany’s life-long friend and died from a rare blood disorder just days before her sixteenth birthday. They were almost daily companions from the first day they met at age 4 continuing through grade school at St. Joseph and into high school at Central Catholic.
Cathy, my sister, was fifty-two when she died after a short battle with cancer. Our family had never been touched by cancer and to have it be so bad and so quick was devastating. She is missed by her family, especially her daughters and grandsons.