Ilan Baril
Posted by Love Hope Strength on Jun 17, 2008
My name is ilan baril, and cancer has affected my life more than I tell most people. My mother, her mother and her grandmother are all breast cancer survivors. One of my childhood best friends is in remission from leukemia and one of my brother’s best friends, a strong as hell United States Marine of a scant 26 years old, was diagnosed and died of a particularly vicious form of leukemia in jus six weeks. Two dear friends, their mother and their father are currently surviving breast cancer, ovarian cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and all of the accompanying complications.
I wanted to do something to try and push back this sky darkening spectre that loomed over my life, so, five years ago now, never having run a race longer than 10k, I signed up for the marathon training program with The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America (Team in Training) to run the Chicago Marathon. I finished, if you’re wondering, but not quickly. The thing that kept me going was the reality that no matter how much I hurt running those miles, it was all better than chemo, or a spinal tap, or, well, any of it.
That race was a LONG time ago, and when Shannon asked me to come along on this trip to one of the most mythical places on the planet, the decision was an easy one, although she will tell you that my response time was a little slow…
As a part of Peru Rocks, I hope to gain not only the money, equipment and attention which will come from the group effort, but also, personally, I’d like to find a broader world view, a sense of personal accomplishment, good friendships and boat loads of pictures.
Thanks for reading, hope you’re doing well and that you can help the cause!
