New Albany resident inspired to run 40 miles before 40th birthday

Kerri Mollard ran for her life this past October. She also ran for the lives of her mother and close friend.

When Mollard turned 40 on Oct. 6, she celebrated by getting in shape and running one mile for each of the years she had lived. For the 10 days prior to her birthday, she ran four miles each day, in a variety of different areas throughout the state.

Mollard, who lives in the Enclave neighborhood and works for herself as a consultant to nonprofits, was no slouch prior to starting her journey, which was inspired in part by a friend who completed a similar feat. But mostly, she was inspired to honor the lives of two women: her mother, Mary Laubenthal, who died of complications from lupus in 2010; and her friend Jennifer Keefer, who died of cancer at the age of 33 after fighting the disease for only three months.

“My mom gave of herself all the time to others. She constantly put the needs of her family and everyone else first,” Mollard says. “A couple of years before she passed away, she said, ‘Don’t do what I did. Don’t put the needs of everyone else before yourself. You have to take care of yourself.’ That was eye-opening.”

Mollard knew she wanted to change her life after a vigorous spinning class with her close friend Alyson Gledhill at the Schiller Community Center in German Village. Her spinning instructor told Mollard and the rest of her class to dismount their bikes and start running.

“I used to always joke that the only reason to run was if you were being chased,” says Mollard. “We ran from the building around Schiller Park, and Alyson and I could barely do it – and it wasn’t that far. That was the first time I realized that I’m so out of shape even though I’m exercising, that I couldn’t do this short run.”

Mollard and Gledhill decided to start training for the Jingle Bell Run for the Arthritis Foundation, which they accomplished at the end of 2010. Mollard ran in memory of her mother.

“I felt like the best way to honor her was to get as healthy as I could so I could say, ‘Mom, I’m taking care of myself,’” she says. “I could get lupus tomorrow. I have no control over that, but I do have control over a lot of other things, like my weight, cholesterol level and strength. … I really wanted to do that 5K before the anniversary of her death to say, ‘I heard you, Mom, and I love you and I am taking care of myself.’”

Then she decided to take it a step further.

She created a website, www.runfor40.com, and let her friends and community know what she would be doing. She picked her runs based on places that held meaning for her, such as the location of her first run – Granville, where she and her husband, Paul, became engaged. Then she ran in Antrim Park, German Village, the Short North, around New Albany with her children and other neighborhood kids, and even in Cleveland, where she and Paul were married. Her last run, rounding out the 40, brought her to Bevelhymer Park.

“That run was hard,” Mollard says, especially the last four miles. “There were a lot of happy memories, and physically, I felt great. But that last run hurt.”

Nonetheless, she was greeted at the finish line by her husband; her two children, Owen and Sarah; and a number of friends and neighbors.

“It was so amazing that I got to share it with so many friends,” she says.

Almost 20 members of Mollard’s group of friends and family – some coming from as far away as Boston, Indianapolis and Savannah – completed virtual runs with her, following her progress on her website.

Mollard continues to run and works out multiple times a week at Ultimate U in New Albany, even though she now deals with daily pain from an iliotibial (IT) band injury for which she is undergoing physical therapy.

In November, she completed a 10K race at Battelle-Darby Metro Park as part of the Wellness in the Woods program. Mollard was disappointed she had to walk the last mile because of the pain.

“It made me think about my mom,” she says. “She lived with pain on a daily basis. I have a new awareness – how many times she wanted to do something and couldn’t because of the pain.”

Mollard’s journey to become a runner has transformed her life, and she hopes it will change the lives of her two children, too.

“I want them to see exercise as an integral part of everyday life,” she says. “I want them to see that life doesn’t revolve around them. There are four sets of needs in our household.”

Gail Martineau is a contributing editor. Comments and feedback welcome at editor@healthynewalbany.org.