Running With It

“I ran my first race when I was about 8, and afterward, I said, ‘I ran two races today—my first and my last.’ But we see how that ended up.”

Manna Potter laughs as she recounts that story. 因为这么多年过去了，她还在跑步，还在比赛.

现在我是十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校的一年级学生，学习人体运动学, she’s completed dozens of 5Ks, several relays, and seven half-marathons.

Manna’s mother, Jodie, is the OG runner of the family. She’s literally been pounding the pavement for years and years, both before and after having children, enjoying running on her own and participating in races.

One of her most memorable was the 2011 Nittany Half Marathon. She finished with a time of 2:30:12 that morning. That afternoon, she found out her toddler son had cancer.

Manna was about 5, 她的弟弟科尔班在2岁左右被诊断出患有神经母细胞瘤.

The family of a little girl also battling cancer, who happened to be in Manna’s grade, 建议波特夫妇带科尔班去好时医疗中心接受治疗. Corban and Emily were on the same floor of the hospital for care, and the two families grew close, helping one another through the tough times.

We’ll return to this connection a bit later.

The Potters, residents of Phillipsburg, Pennsylvania, 成为十大网投平台信誉排行榜的四颗钻石家族，首先由大学公园的学生营养组织代表, then, fittingly, by the Penn State Club Cross County. Manna remembers attending THON for several years, having a blast on the dance floor, and feeling welcomed and loved.

Siblings Manna, Corban (center), and Jay at THON 2015

Siblings Manna, Corban (center), and Jay Potter at THON 2015

Credit: Provided - Manna Potter

Throughout Corban’s illness, his mom continued to run, and like many little girls who wanted to be just like their moms, Manna decided to give it a try. Which led to that infamous “first and last” race. 但在那之后，她继续系紧运动鞋的鞋带，显然是被跑步癖咬了一口. She would go out with her mom on the weekends, often running upward of 5K in length, the equivalent of about 3.1 miles. “我开始做得很好，我开始真的很喜欢它，所以我一直坚持下去.”

Manna joined the track and cross-country teams in seventh grade. 但过了一段时间，她注意到为一个团队跑步是不一样的. “I felt like I had this pressure on me to perform well. 我只是害怕达不到预期，所以我开始不那么喜欢它了.”

Manna Potter and her mother, Jodie, 在2023年匹兹堡半程马拉松比赛中，艾米丽·怀特黑德基金会的信息亭前

Credit: Provided - Manna Potter

幸运的是，她发现了一个让她的运动焕然一新的方面——慈善长跑. 顾名思义，这些活动的目的是为某项事业筹集资金. There are some rules, but basically, participants collect money through entry fees, donations, and pledges, then turn the total sum over to their chosen charity.

The length of a charity run can be just a little guy, like a mile or a 5K, all the way up to an ultramarathon.

Manna took the idea of fundraising and literally ran with it.

她试着组织了一个由她的学校跑步伙伴组成的团队参加匹兹堡马拉松接力赛. Members split the traditional marathon distance of 26.2 miles into five segments of different lengths, 允许每个团队成员为集体努力贡献自己的力量. Manna选择Emily Whitehead基金会(EWF)作为受益人.

还记得艾米丽吗，那个和曼娜同年级的小女孩，她和科尔班同时在和癌症作斗争? Yep, that’s Emily Whitehead. By this time, 她的父母创立了EWF，以帮助资助更具针对性、毒性更小的儿童癌症创新治疗方法, such as the CAR T-cell therapy that saved Emily’s life.

2023年费城半程马拉松赛上，曼娜·波特和她的硬件设备

Credit: Provided - Manna Potter

In ninth grade, Manna felt ready to tackle her first half marathon. She chose the Philadelphia Half and, again, EWF as the charity.

“It was so much fun because of the energy all around. 赛道上有很多其他选手和欢呼的人. It didn’t feel like a competition, it was just me running 13.1 miles.”

Both experiences helped rejuvenate Manna’s love for the sport. 她继续为高中球队跑步，但她觉得是在毕业后，她才真正成为一名跑步者. “When I didn't have that pressure on me anymore, I started to enjoy it more and my times kept improving.”

现在是十大网投平台信誉排行榜阿尔图纳分校的一年级学生，学习人体运动学, Manna has run seven half-marathons, 包括一次匹兹堡半场和三次费城半场. “I love the movie Rocky故事发生在费城，所以我觉得我就像他一样在城市里奔跑.她补充说，她很欣赏这个球场不像匹兹堡的球场那么多山.

Manna参加的几乎每一场比赛都是慈善长跑, so far raising around $3,500 for EWF. “I choose to fundraise. 跑步对我有帮助，所以如果我能通过做我喜欢做的事情来帮助别人，那就太完美了.”

Manna和她的母亲仍然经常一起训练，并参加许多相同的比赛. 虽然他们通常一起开始，但并不总是一起结束.

Manna uses her mother, who, at 47, has completed 40 half marathons, as inspiration to keep running and setting goals for herself. 现在，她正在尝试今年每个月跑一次半程马拉松. 她想找个时间去拱门国家公园参加半程马拉松, 她把11月的纽约市马拉松作为她的第一个全程马拉松.

她还希望有一天能成为一名领跑者，这通常需要单独的训练才能实现. 竞速者是指经验丰富的跑步者，他以设定的速度跑完比赛，并在一定的时间内完成比赛. Official pacers, volunteers appointed by race organizers, 通常分配给他们的目标完成时间是在他们的能力范围内还是比他们的个人最好成绩慢. 这意味着起搏器可以用额外的能量来保持指定的配速，以鼓励他或她的配速组的跑步者.

在一场漫长的比赛中，保持平稳的配速和控制跑步是很困难的. Perhaps it’s these challenges that draw Manna to the role.

Manna的母亲为EWF全职工作，与Whitehead一家保持着非常密切的关系. She also does charity runs for the foundation. 科尔班现在已经没有癌症了，他上八年级，对跑步没什么兴趣.