A UF employee will run 13.1 miles to fight childhood cancer next year.
Jennifer Ford, a 32-year-old senior graphic designer for UF Online, is running to raise money for Noah’s Light Foundation, which aims to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer. Though she ran a 5K in April, this will be her longest race.
Ford has raised about $170 so far, but she said she hopes to exceed $2,000 before the half marathon on April 1, she said.
Ford said she first heard about the organization from founder Amber Larkin, a mother who lost her 8-year-old son to brain cancer. Having two children of her own, hearing this made Ford want to help find a cure, she said.
“I’m also a mother, and I can’t imagine losing my children that way,” Ford said.
Noah’s Light also helps families by reimbursing the cost of traveling for kids to participate in new treatments, said Rachel Wright, the Team Noah director and Ford’s team captain.
“It’s scary for a family to be impeded by the cost of these trials,” she said.
By training for the run, Ford isn’t just raising money; she’s helping her family get active, she said. She runs three days a week to prepare. On short walks, her kids come with her.
“I’m doing it for a purpose and involving family,” she said.
She said training will be difficult, but she’s up to the challenge, Ford said.
“As long as I finish and raise the money, that’s all I care about,” she said.
Jennifer Ford, a 32-year-old senior graphic designer for UF Online, is running to raise money for Noah’s Light Foundation, which aims to find a cure for pediatric brain cancer. Though she ran a 5K in April, she said this will be her longest race.
