The Long Sprint - a Column by Laura King Edwards

I recently stumbled across a LinkedIn post by Joe Monaco, a business development manager at Motorola. But Joe’s words, which garnered more than 206,000 likes and 3,100 shares in just two days, had nothing to do with his day job. Instead, they accompanied a photo of two of his…

The world expected little from my younger sister, Taylor. And why shouldn’t they? After all, her diagnosis of CLN1 disease (Batten disease) at the age of 7 defied dreams for her future. Science said that instead of living life to the fullest, she’d simply lose it. But Taylor…

Equal parts beautiful and bold, my sister, Taylor, knew how to get what she wanted, whether through earnest effort or effortless charm. The youngest member of her family by 11 years and often the youngest student in her class, Taylor nevertheless wrapped everyone around her little finger and didn’t…

Like life, Batten disease is a game of inches. Get approved for physical therapy? You may walk long after your eyes stop working. Get denied those services? You may stop walking long before modern medicine says you should. Consume the perfect cocktail of anti-seizure medications? You may just have a…

I haven’t walked in 36 days, three hours, and 16 minutes. Not that I’m keeping count or anything. Since having major ankle surgery on Jan. 14, I’ve undergone a crash course in life without the gift of mobility. Though I’ve been injury-riddled since I was a 17-year-old soccer midfielder,…

For most of us, January means a new beginning. For me, January 2022 also means a new left ankle — a souvenir from over 40 half-marathons and a 25-year soccer career. And while I’m already dreaming about my next race, the looming surgery also has me thinking long and…

This will be my fourth Christmas without my sister. Taylor lost her life to CLN1 disease (Batten disease) in 2018, yet Mom still hangs her stocking from the mantle every Thanksgiving weekend. My son, Jack, keeps the spirit of Taylor’s beloved singing angels alive, carrying the haloed host everywhere…

I’ve run nearly 40 half marathons — two of them blindfolded — but zero marathons. This fact surprises a lot of people, but I know my own story all too well. I know that the only time I trained for a full marathon, my joints couldn’t take the high training…

On a cool morning in Wyoming’s Teton Range late last month, I laced up a pair of dusty, well-worn boots and ventured into a glacier-carved gorge called Death Canyon. Having left my 3-year-old son with my parents at our cabin in Jackson, I’d set my heart on attempting the toughest,…

U.S. distance runner Molly Seidel won a bronze medal in Tokyo this month, crossing the finish line of the women’s Olympic marathon third overall in just her third crack at the 26.2-mile race. Tears pricked the backs of my eyes as I watched the gutsy performance of…