Mother-daughter duo to participate in Broad Street Run in honor of late father
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Thousands of people are getting ready for Sunday's Broad Street Run. Among them is a group running for the American Cancer Society.
Cassie Donahue and her mom Jane Donahue are preparing to run the 10-mile race and are remembering someone they could never be prepared to lose.
Cassie's dad, Jane's husband, Brian, died two years ago after a year-long battle with a rare cancer
"It was really painful and it continues," Jane Donahue said. "I mean he's part of each one of us but it's a journey that I don't want anybody to have to go through."
They've joined the American Cancer Society's Determination team running Broad Street to raise money for cancer research.
"I think it's really important after you've lost someone to find a new purpose and a new way of living," Cassie Donahue said.
Their running and training have been filled with memories of a special man with a full life taken too soon. They cherish a book filled with tributes to Brian.
"It's a little bit bittersweet knowing that he's not here but it's good to look back on some of those memories and think of him in a happier way," Cassie Donahue said.
They hang on to those happy memories running so other families won't have to know the agony of cancer.
"We run for Brian, but we run for so many people that are fighting right now And we have friends and family that are currently in treatment. So we are definitely, you know thinking of a lot of people," Jane Donahue said.
The Donahues will be among 350 cancer warriors participating in the Broad Street Run raising more than $225,000 for the American Cancer Society.