the Portico
“Our mission is to enhance the relationship between the University and its alumni and friends and promoted pride and commitment within the University Community.”One step at a time
On a warm afternoon in Manhattan, Nicole Chuchmach, B.Comm. ’02 and MBA ’07, took her final strides with friends Natalie Atkinson and Jill Harper keeping pace. Their legs throbbed, their bodies ached, their minds were exhausted, but their spirits soared. It was the end of an eight-week, 780-kilometre run that took the trio from Milton, Ont., to the heart of New York City.
“I didn’t know whether to cry or to cheer,” says Chuchmach, who founded Sophie’s Run to raise funds for and awareness of colorectal cancer. It’s the second leading cancer killer, but one of the most treatable, says Chuchmach, whose mother, Sophie, died from the disease in 2006.
“I could feel my mom so close to me through the Holland Tunnel. I was thinking how much I wanted her to be there, but I soon realized she was there with me every step of the way.”
Her father, Terry, was there too. He and Chuchmach’s uncle, Mike Boyko, trailed the runners in an RV. Together, the team raised $170,000 and inspired countless people they met along the way, as well as others who heard and read about their story.
Chuchmach, who is a project manager for Gordon Food Serves and teaches leadership courses at George Brown College, shared her personal story of triumph and tragedy with some 4,500 first-year U of G students during Orientation Week in September 2009.
“When I was a student, I didn’t realize how important getting involved was,” she says. “But when my mom got sick, my professors really rallied around to support me in every way possible. Guelph is more than a university. It has really become an extended family to me, and I wanted to let students know that their relationship with the University doesn’t have to end when they graduate. It can be something that lasts a lifetime.”
She spoke of the heartache of losing her mother, her desire to save lives by educating people about the signs and symptoms of colorectal cancer, and the challenges of running for days through the treacherous Catskill Mountains.
“I’ll never forget those mountains for as long as I live,” she says. “Mentally, we didn’t want to be discouraged by the anticipation of the hills, but they took their toll on us physically.”
It was all worth it once they finally made it through the Holland Tunnel — which, in a rare move, was shut down for them — and into New York City, she says.
More than a year after the run, Chuchmach has started to come to terms with her mother’s death by sharing her thoughts in a book she plans to publish with Meaghen Sittler, the daughter of hockey legend Darryl Sittler. Meaghen lost her mother to cancer in 2002.
“We found comfort in sharing our experiences with one another,” says Chuchmach, and we believe this book will help bring us some closure and remind others that they’re not alone in the experience of losing a mother.”
By Rebecca Kendall
