**Please note, you can continue to make donations to my site, I am trying to reach my goal of 20K**

I will have an update about my marathon journey on the the blog within the next two days.

I did complete the whole 26.2 miles-running the whole time!!! YEAH! It only took me 6 hours, 5 minutes and 12 seconds :)
Kellie

Thank you for visiting my Chicago Marathon, Pancreatic Cancer Fundraising Site.

This is the first Marathon that I have ever run. Since college I took up running and found that it is something I really enjoy. I must get it from my dad -as some of you know, he still holds the record for the fastest mile in boys under 16 in the city of Chicago from his days at Lane Tech High School.

Since I really started running in 1999 the furthest I have run is a half marathon which took place in Boston in October 2004. Running a marathon has always been a goal that I have wanted to accomplish at some point in my life. Dad's illness was the inspiration I needed to make the commitment to train for a marathon. Running the Chicago Marathon only seemed appropriate, to come home to dad and my family to achieve my lifelong goal. Very unfortunately not long after my training started dad fell very ill and we lost him too abruptly on June 30^th, 2007. Due to this fact my training was on hold for a short time, however I’m back on track and want to move forward with this marathon, more than ever, in his honor.

Losing a loved one to a deadly disease is heartbreaking – but knowing there is no cure, no medicine, or test to detect it soon enough for it to make a difference is truly devastating. By raising money and awareness and running I want to be sure that more people become aware of this deadly and horrifying cancer that took my dad from us so quickly.

Some facts you may not know about Pancreatic Cancer:

An estimated 52.7 million dollars is spent on pancreatic cancer research annually of the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) cancer research budget. This is just 1% of the NCI’s 4.824 billion dollar cancer research budget.

Despite the especially lethal nature of pancreatic cancer, the research spending per pancreatic cancer patient is only $1,145.00, the lowest of any leading cancer.

Pancreatic cancer is one of the deadliest and most painful types of cancer. Median survival from diagnosis is around 3 to 6 months; 5-year survival is much less than 5%. With 32,180 new diagnoses in the United States every year, and 31,800 deaths, mortality approaches 99%, giving pancreatic cancer the highest fatality rate of all cancers and the fourth highest cancer killer in the United States amongst both men and women. Usually less than 20% of newly diagnosed patients are eligible for the whipple procedure as the cancer most often presents metastatic growth to the liver before it is detected. 

It is not uncommon to hear of patients dying less than a year after their diagnosis.

Dad lived 8 months after his diagnosis which was shocking and devastating to all of us. I will run this marathon and think of dad the entire way. It will be one of my greatest challenges yet; however with dad in spirit, by my side, and knowing what he endured for 8 months of his life, I will be able to reach my goal of running across that finish line with my family and friends cheering me on. A bonus will be to have any contribution you can give to help us fund more research and create more awareness in the hopes of preventing one of your loved ones from having to live through the horrifying  journey my father did.

All our Love,

Kellie and the Ellermann Family