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Jodi Montel, a teacher at Mentone Elementary School, had always wanted to run a marathon by the time she was 40.
However, at age 33, she had not given it much serious thought until she received a fund-raising letter for the Leukemia Society of America. The letter outlined different ways to raise funds for the cause, and one just happened to be running a marathon.
The letter came just after Montel read a story in the newspaper about three-year-old Brenna Jeffreys and her battle with leukemia.
"That gave me the inspiration and motivation I needed," said Montel. "It gave me a surge of energy. Even though I didn't know Brenna directly at the time, the thought of what that small child was going through really affected me. I have a young child at home and it made me really thankful for our healthy family."
So an inspired Montel contacted the Leukemia Society of America Team-In-Training and began working toward her goal, running a marathon to held an ill child.
On Jan. 9, Montel reached her goal. She ran a marathon at Disney World in Orlando, Fla. The 26.2-mile course wound through the parks and Montel received a large mouse-shaped medal for finishing the marathon.
"I finished in under five hours, but there's nothing quite like crossing that finish line," said Montel. "Just knowing I did it was wonderful. It was a great experience."
Montel not only finished the marathon, she raised nearly $5,000 in the process.
"In the end, a lot of my success was because of my students and the school," said Montel. "Brenna motivated and inspired me, but I could not have raised the money without everyone's help."
