It's been almost 20 years since Gina Middleton Gierc cheered for the Blue Tide, attended Long County High School and was chosen homecoming queen, but the daughter of Frank and Diane Middleton is still making her mom and dad proud and representing Long County well.
This past week, Gierc ran in the 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon and, along with her husband, raised nearly $4000 to go toward research to find a cure for leukemia. According to the runner, the national chapter raised over $ 6 million to fight the disease.
The Long County native has been running for years, but this was the first complete marathon she had ran.
After completing the 26.2 mile race Gierc said, "I became very emotional. It's hard to describe, you get this overwhelming sense of pride, of accomplishment, like you have never imagined. It really makes you feel that anything is possible if you really want it."
She also said the reason she ran was, "One of my best friends suffered from leukemia and survived. She also thought she could never have a child, but in November she had a beautiful baby girl."
She added, "I was inspired by her, how she dealt with the disease, the treatment, the cost, everything, so when I found out about this, I was eager to sign up."
Gierc finished the race in just over five hours. Her husband, who has run in several marathons, also did quite well.
"Kevin is a fast runner. He finished the race in about 3-1/2 hours," Gierc said.
To be exact, his finish was 3:45:10, which was good enough to finish overall in the race at 706th place. There were 18,000 runners.
The couple is planning to run another marathon in September, in Hawaii, and once again they will be raising money to fight leukemia.
"I am set for Maui, Hawaii, and I want to exceed my goal this time and not just reach it. It will take a lot of letter writing, emails and contacting people, but I've met some wonderful people, and you would be surprised at how many want to help," she said.
If anyone is interesting in helping Gierc raise money and would like to sponsor her, they can reach her at (405) 824-8922 or email RGierc@hcr-manorcare.com.
This past week, Gierc ran in the 15th annual Walt Disney World Marathon and, along with her husband, raised nearly $4000 to go toward research to find a cure for leukemia. According to the runner, the national chapter raised over $ 6 million to fight the disease.
The Long County native has been running for years, but this was the first complete marathon she had ran.
After completing the 26.2 mile race Gierc said, "I became very emotional. It's hard to describe, you get this overwhelming sense of pride, of accomplishment, like you have never imagined. It really makes you feel that anything is possible if you really want it."
She also said the reason she ran was, "One of my best friends suffered from leukemia and survived. She also thought she could never have a child, but in November she had a beautiful baby girl."
She added, "I was inspired by her, how she dealt with the disease, the treatment, the cost, everything, so when I found out about this, I was eager to sign up."
Gierc finished the race in just over five hours. Her husband, who has run in several marathons, also did quite well.
"Kevin is a fast runner. He finished the race in about 3-1/2 hours," Gierc said.
To be exact, his finish was 3:45:10, which was good enough to finish overall in the race at 706th place. There were 18,000 runners.
The couple is planning to run another marathon in September, in Hawaii, and once again they will be raising money to fight leukemia.
"I am set for Maui, Hawaii, and I want to exceed my goal this time and not just reach it. It will take a lot of letter writing, emails and contacting people, but I've met some wonderful people, and you would be surprised at how many want to help," she said.
If anyone is interesting in helping Gierc raise money and would like to sponsor her, they can reach her at (405) 824-8922 or email RGierc@hcr-manorcare.com.