Running in Switzerland for the children of St. Jude (by Rebecca Krynski Cox

My St. Jude Memphis Half Marathon from 5,000 miles away

By Rebecca Krynski Cox

The photos for this article were taken by the author on her iPhone XR using the timer feature and her Apple watch as a trigger.

I’ve been running a lot since last March, when everything began shutting down. My running and fitness routine have been the only consistent thing in my life since then. I registered for a few virtual races, to keep me working towards a goal. This was my first time participating in the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend, and I am SO happy for the opportunity to do so. A little backstory about my fitness journey: I began running in 2012, as a way to lose weight. But what kept me running were the immense mental benefits. Running has been a HUGE part of my life, especially since COVID entered the scene. It has brought me the opportunity for accomplishment and stress relief, not to mention exploring so many spectacular trails that I otherwise might never have seen.

I have made donations to St. Jude in the past, but this was my first time fundraising for this amazing organization, or any other, for that matter. I was blown away by the positive response. Within the first 24 hours of posting that I was running, I had nearly doubled my fundraising goal. Everyone who donated did so very enthusiastically and expressed to me how much they love St. Jude.

I have not had any personal connection to St. Jude, other than admiring everything that it provides for so many children and their families. I love St. Jude’s mission to end childhood cancer, and I am very happy to contribute, even in a small way. I was previously unaware that the research hospital has already brought the survival rate from 20% to 80%, and I have no doubt that number will one day be 100%.

One of the advantages of running a virtual race is that you can choose your own route. I make it a point to run a different route for every long run. One of my goals is to run around the entirety of Lake Lucerne, which is about 100 miles. I decided to use The St. Jude Half Marathon to run a very special section of the lake, called the Wegder Schweiz, or “The Swiss Path.” It is a commemorative trail that was made around the southernmost part of the lake to celebrate the 700th year of the Swiss Confederation. The entire route was new to me, which made it so fun and exciting.

Though there was a lot of elevation (over 2,000 feet of gain), the views of the lake and the Alps were spectacular. I came across a huge bell tower that plays songs which you can request from a list. Many of the songs were Swiss folk songs, one of which I had learned to sing on a concert last year, and includes some fun yodeling. So when those bells started ringing, I couldn’t help but join in!

The author looks out over Lake Lucerne in Central Switzerland. (See cover.) She ran a half marathon in December to raise funds for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital on a special part of a trail around the lake. Her course included the Wegder Schweiz (Swiss Path). 10