Son’s death inspires Hartford Marathon runner
HARTFORD — What makes someone run a marathon? Willpower? Confidence? Validation?
For some Hartford Marathon runners, the race is a way to connect with their community, other runners and themselves.
Ahead of the Eversource Hartford Marathon on Oct. 8, the Hartford Marathon Foundation selected 12 runners for the “Inspiration Team” to highlight participants who are making a difference in their communities.
The Hartford Marathon takes place each fall, closing some local streets while thousands of runners take over the city to complete marathons, half marathons and relay races.
“The Inspiration Team is a beloved tradition that brings a small sampling of some amazing participant stories to light. It’s a wonderful opportunity to highlight people that have dedicated time and efforts to power through challenges; they inspire us to do our best to celebrate their achievements and all of those who cross the finish line on race day,” said Beth Shluger, CEO of the Hartford Marathon Foundation.
Running as therapy after son’s death
Neil Connery couldn’t leave his home for weeks after he and his wife lost their son, Gavin, who died at 10 weeks old in 2017.
While Connery’s wife was pregnant with Gavin, doctors discovered he had congenital diaphragmatic hernia, a rare syndrome in which a baby is born without a diaphragm or only part of a diaphragm.
“Eventually one day we just said, ‘Let’s go to the track, let’s go for a walk, we got to do something,’ ” said Connery, a Derby resident. “We did that for a few days in a row, and it evolved into running for me.”
For Connery, running became a way to reconnect with Gavin.
“Initially then and still now, when it gets harder, I tend to think about Gavin,” Connery said. “I think about things that he had to endure. And I talk to him, and I just found that it was a way that I could stay connected to him.”
Connery will be running in this year’s Hartford Marathon as part of the Inspiration Team.
CDH occurs in just 1 in every 5,000 to 10,000 births. When the diaphragm does not form properly, organs such as the stomach and spleen can move into the lung cavity, crowding the lungs and causing pulmonary hypertension.
Participating in events like the Hartford Marathon is one way Connery hopes to raise awareness about CDH and the Gavin Connery Foundation created in his honor.
“When we do these events, I essentially wear a T-shirt that has ‘Team Gavin’ and ‘CDH awareness’ and information about our foundation on it,” Connery said. “I basically look like a moving billboard for CDH awareness.”
Running can be painful or difficult at times, but after sitting bedside with his son at the Intensive Care Unit, Connery said his perspective shifted. He hopes that by raising awareness about CDH, he will help others remember Gavin’s strength.
Empowering women, one marathon at a time
Racquel Lunser finds her inspiration to compete by following her motto, “Trust the process.”
It’s a motto she lives by and shares with the customers at her group fitness studio in West Hartford, Racquel’s Addiction Fitness.
“It’s just kind of knowing that there’s small steps. But each, if you do these small steps consistently, then it actually ends up to be a big result,” Lunser said.
Trusting the process has powered Lunser through seven years of running the Hartford Marathon. Lunser, who is also a social worker and single mom, has been recruiting other women from her gym to do what might have previously seemed daunting — run marathons alongside her.
“I want to be that role model for even young women to know, yes, you can be a mom, yes, you can have a business,” Lunser said. “You can succeed at all of these things. And at the same time, you can inspire and motivate other people to be able to accomplish these goals.”
Since her start seven years ago, Lunser, who is part of this year’s Inspiration Team, has recruited almost 30 women to run each year. One of her other favorite slogans is, “Remember who believed in you.”
“Always the scariest step of getting started in anything is just the unknown,” Lunser said. “So it’s just having that support behind you and a group that will meet up with you and go for these runs. And we do a lot outside of the gym that are just kind of running meet-ups and running groups. So it keeps everybody inspired.”
“In his time (Gavin)was alive, he went through more than a lot of people go through in a lifetime,” Connery said. “So you think about that pain that he had to endure as a newborn, which obviously makes the the pain of running not seem so bad.
“I don’t know, it’s just the way that I stay connected to him. And he pushed me through.”