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RUNNING FOR RACHAEL TOWNSEND: Her life touched many
May 13, 2004
BY JO-ANN BARNAS
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Sometimes it happens here, on a serene stretch of U.S.-33 in southeastern Ohio, past Logan, just as the road disappears under a canopy of trees and streams of sunlight tickle the forest floor.
Even from miles away, Brian Townsend can feel them coming -- waves of emotion so powerful he almost can't suppress the urge to call out her name. That is what love does to you. And death.
But this is a story celebrating a life. Rachael Townsend's life.
"That's what she was all about, living life, embracing it and sharing it," Brian Townsend said. "Everyone will tell you that."
Rachael was Brian's wife. She was also a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a coach, an athlete -- and everybody's best friend.
She died last October, collapsing shortly after crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon. Her death was due to an undetected ailment, called mitral valve prolapse, which caused sudden cardiac arrest. She was 29.
Seven months later, in the halls of Saline High, on the field hockey pitch at the University of Michigan, at her childhood home in British Columbia -- really, in the hearts of everyone who knew her -- Rachael Townsend's memory still burns bright.
It is why her family and friends have organized the "Townsend Trot -- a 5K for Rachael" at 9 a.m. Saturday at Saline High. Townsend was a physical education teacher at the school and coached the girls soccer team for seven years.
(Comlete article available at www.freep.com)
May 13, 2004
BY JO-ANN BARNAS
FREE PRESS SPORTS WRITER
Sometimes it happens here, on a serene stretch of U.S.-33 in southeastern Ohio, past Logan, just as the road disappears under a canopy of trees and streams of sunlight tickle the forest floor.
Even from miles away, Brian Townsend can feel them coming -- waves of emotion so powerful he almost can't suppress the urge to call out her name. That is what love does to you. And death.
But this is a story celebrating a life. Rachael Townsend's life.
"That's what she was all about, living life, embracing it and sharing it," Brian Townsend said. "Everyone will tell you that."
Rachael was Brian's wife. She was also a daughter, a sister, a teacher, a coach, an athlete -- and everybody's best friend.
She died last October, collapsing shortly after crossing the finish line at the Chicago Marathon. Her death was due to an undetected ailment, called mitral valve prolapse, which caused sudden cardiac arrest. She was 29.
Seven months later, in the halls of Saline High, on the field hockey pitch at the University of Michigan, at her childhood home in British Columbia -- really, in the hearts of everyone who knew her -- Rachael Townsend's memory still burns bright.
It is why her family and friends have organized the "Townsend Trot -- a 5K for Rachael" at 9 a.m. Saturday at Saline High. Townsend was a physical education teacher at the school and coached the girls soccer team for seven years.
(Comlete article available at www.freep.com)
