Brentwood accountant Julie Weiss lost her father in 2010 to Pancreatic Cancer. That set Weiss off on a series of events, which led her to run 52 marathons in 52 weeks to raise money and awareness for The Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
Her father was her biggest fan and most challenging critic. Their greatest dream was for him to see his daughter qualify and run the Boston Marathon. Weiss ran her first marathon in 2008. She attempted to qualify 18 times.
Her father would have been so proud that on December 5th 2010, One week after her father’s death she finally did qualify. She says her father was the wind at her back and had the best seat in the house, her heart. He was diagnosed in October of 2010 and died just 35 days after diagnosis.
Weiss was devastated and looked into the mysterious illness that had taken her father. She didn’t like what she found. Pancreatic cancer is the 4th leading cause of cancer death in the United Sates. Over 43,000 people will be diagnosed each year and over 37,000 will die. It’s also one the lowest funded cancers out there, in terms of research.
Weiss knew she had to do something and it should be centered around her passion for running and the love for her father. She set out on a journey to raise One Million for the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network. She’s now over halfway through her journey of 52 marathons and has raised over $106,000.
Weiss doesn’t just run marathons, she’s a mother of two, works 9-5 Monday through Friday, here in Brentwood as an accountant. She leaves her office on Friday, runs a marathon in a different city and is back to work Monday morning. Some people say she’s crazy, Weiss says no, just extremely passionate to find a cure.
A single marathon is 26.2 miles. Weiss will run 1,362.4 miles this year. Her final marathon will be right here in LA on March 17, 2013. She will run down San Vicente as her final decent into the finish line in Santa Monica where she lives.
Weiss is very grateful for the amount of support she has received. Some of her sponsors are ASICS, VEGA and more. She welcomes other sponsors as well. Please visit her website www.marathongoddess.com. Donations can be made through her website and go directly to the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network.
