5 for Good: 200-mile relay ruck on Cape Cod benefits veterans organization

EVENT. THEIRS WAS A WHIRLWIND ROMANCE. FINDING LOVE IN THE MIDST OF WAR. TWO ARMY RESERVISTS CALLED TO ACTIVE DUTY AFTER NINE OVER 11. MY MAIDEN NAME IS KELLI AND KURT’S LAST NAME WAS KELLER, AND SO WE WOULD STAND IN LINE ALPHABETICALLY IN PROCESSING FOR EVERYTHING. AND YEAH, THAT’S KIND OF HOW WE MET. AND A RELATIONSHIP BUILT BOTH DEPLOYED TO IRAQ IN 2003. THERE WERE HORRORS. ONE OF THE BIG BOMBINGS THAT FIRST HAPPENED, BUT THEY MADE IT HOME. KURT PROPOSING IN THE BOSTON GLOBE THEIR LIFE TOGETHER, MOVING FORWARD QUICKLY. WE GOT ENGAGED. WE BOUGHT A HOUSE. WE GOT A DOG. YOU KNOW, WE GOT MARRIED. I GOT PREGNANT. IT WAS JUST LIKE BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM, BOOM. AND I DON’T THINK WE EVER REALLY, I GUESS LIKE PROCESSED OR LIKE WORKED ON THE THINGS THAT WE SAW AND UNFORTUNATELY EXPERIENCED THERE. THREE MONTHS INTO MEGAN’S PREGNANCY, KURT DIED BY SUICIDE. MEGAN SAW NO WARNINGS. WHEN WE CAME HOME 21 YEARS AGO. WE DIDN’T COME BACK TO LIKE A BIG MILITARY INSTALLATION THAT HAD, YOU KNOW, SERVICES AND HELP AND THINGS LIKE THAT. PEOPLE WERE NOT TALKING ABOUT POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS. I REALLY HAVE FOUND IN MY HEALING PROCESS IS TRYING TO TAKE MY PAIN AND TURN THAT INTO A PURPOSE. THIS IS HEAVY. YES. 10 POUNDS IS IN THEIR WEIGHT. MEGAN CARRIED RUNNING WITH A PURPOSE THROUGH ALL 15 TOWNS ON CAPE COD, COMPLETING A 200 MILE TEAM RELAY RUCK. LET’S GO THROUGH. YOU START AT 1 A.M. IN THE MORNING ON A FRIDAY. SO WE’RE RUNNING THROUGH THE DARKNESS OF FRIDAY ALL DAY FRIDAY INTO THE NIGHT, FRIDAY NIGHT, AND THEN SATURDAY. MIDDAY IS WHEN MOST OF THE TEAMS WILL FINISH. IT’S QUITE A LONG WAY. NICOLE SPENCER IS EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF HEROES IN TRANSITION OR HIT THIS EVENT RUCK FOR HIT IS THE LARGEST ANNUAL FUNDRAISER FOR THE VETERANS ORGANIZATION, WHICH IS BASED IN MASHPEE. FOUNDED 15 YEARS AGO BY THE PARENTS OF A FALLEN MARINE, CAPTAIN ERIC JONES, HE WAS A MARINE HELICOPTER PILOT. HE LOST HIS LIFE IN AFGHANISTAN AND AND HIS PARENTS, CINDY AND KEN JONES, BROUGHT HIM HOME FOR THE FINAL TIME AND WHEN THEY DID THAT, THEY KNEW THAT THEY WANTED TO KEEP ERIC’S MISSION OF ASSISTING THE TROOPS ON THE GROUND ALIVE. WE RUN 13 PROGRAMS FOR SPOUSES, COUPLES, FAMILY MEMBERS, VETERANS, ACTIVE SERVICE MEMBERS. MEGAN, A PHYSICAL THERAPIST ASSISTANT AT CAPE COD REHABILITATION, HAS HELPED TRAIN RUNNERS IN YEARS PAST. SHE’S EVEN TREATED THEM ON THE COURSE, SO SHE KNEW JUST HOW GRUELING TAKING PART WOULD BE. BUT SHE WAS NOT DISCOURAGED. DECIDING TO RUN THIS YEAR FOR THE VERY FIRST TIME, FINDING SOMETHING THAT IS BIGGER THAN ME AND TO KIND OF TAKE THAT PAIN AND TRANSMUTE IT AND CHANNEL IT INTO SOMETHING POSITIVE AND GOOD HAS LIKE, TRULY HELPED ME. SO. AND THAT’S WHY I’M INVOLVED WITH HEROES IN TRANSITION. ALSO INVOLVED MEGAN AND KURT’S DAUGHTER ELSA, NOW NEARLY 17, SHE DESIGNED HER MOM’S RUCK TEAM LOGO. SHE WAS ON THE ROUTE TO SUPPORT MEGAN, WHO IS NOW HELPING TO SUPPORT SO MANY OTHERS. WOW. IT’S AN AMAZING FEAT. IT’S SUCH A STRONG WOMAN, OBVIOUSLY. YEAH. SO ROCKFORD HIT. IT STARTED NINE YEARS AGO WITH JUST 16 PEOPLE. THEY ACTUALLY RAN FROM NEW YORK CITY GROUND ZERO TO THE CAPE. BUT THEN AFTER THAT FIRST YEAR DECIDED THEY SHOULD BE RUNNING IN THEIR BACKYARD TO REALLY BRING AWARENESS TO HEROES AND TRANSITION. SO IT’S AN INCREDIBLE EVENT. 20 YEARS, 20 TEAMS THIS YEAR, 230 PARTICIPAN