Peggy Padden knows tragedy, knows it too well. But Peggy Padden has strength and perseverance too. After Jake’s death she extended her leave of absence from Silver Star Elementary School in Vancouver, Washington, where she teaches third grade, and devoted her life to trying to save her youngest son.

Within six months, she organized and hosted a fundraising auction at the Irvington Club, the neighborhood tennis club where her family plays. Her primary goal at this point was to get people on the bone marrow registry, so—and here’s where the gumption comes in—she called the National Marrow Donor Program to ask if she could sign people up at Red Cross. They said no, that’s not how things are done. Peggy Padden told them that from now on that is how things are done and off she went to Red Cross where she sat in the lobby and asked blood donors if they would join the bone marrow registry. Despite having to pay a fee just to be tested, eight out of ten people agreed to be tested. Peggy Padden, it should be noted, has charm.

Late in 2004, Peggy wondered if she could do more. Of course she thought she could, and decided (spur of the moment, as is her style) to put together a race as a fundraiser for FA. That she did so is deeply admirable and reflects her compassion and spirit. That she did so in six weeks is a stunning testament to her commitment.

For those six weeks Peggy was a one-woman race-planner extraordinaire. She wanted her race to fall early on the running calendar so as to not get lost in the shuffle of so many Nikes in so many downtown races March–October (thus the six-week timeframe). She also knew where she wanted to hold her race: on the waterfront. It is pretty there, the view of the water, and pretty isolated from traffic (read: fewer streets to close=lower cost). The rest though, she didn’t know, and would discover along the way: like, how do you actually put a race together? That she eventually got both the date (Valentine’s week) and the location she wanted stems directly from her gumption (I told you this lady’s got it in spades): her confidence to ask for what she wants is why she gets it. (And her follow-through helps.)

Turns out you have to get permission from the city to hold a race. Also turns out that’s a bit of an elaborate process, involving various forms, fees, permits, and approvals. Next, you have to get special event insurance: who’s heard of that? After those big-ticket logistics, there are the minor ones that you never see happening but that must fall into place for a race to be run smoothly. If you’ve ever wondered who calls around looking for the best deal on T-shirts; who organizes the fundraising and coordinates with the charities; who contacts the sponsors (yes, this actually has to be done—they don’t just manifest every time you lace up your shoes); who calls up thirty-four friends and family members and says, “I need your help if this is going to happen;” who measures and remeasures the course route with the odometer on her bicycle, riding up and down the course—well, in this case it was Peggy Padden.

She got the T-shirts from A Better T Shirt Company on N Mississippi St. She called Jake’s doctor and asked if it would be more beneficial to raise money for research or to help get more people on the bone marrow registry. He said research and suggested the Fanconi Anemia Research Fund, founded by Lynn and Dave Frohnmayer, who also have children with FA, so she arranged that. She—well, you get the idea. And in addition to putting the race together, she had to make sure people would be there to run it. She printed up brochures and left them around at all the local running stores, and per Peggy’s style, developed an effective word-of-mouth campaign.

So, did it work?

By almost any standard: yes. Almost because some of the more serious runners complained that the odometer on Peggy’s bicycle had been slightly miscalibrated. But besides that: a triumph. The race drew 234 runners and raised $12,000 for FARF.

In the succeeding years, with mounting experience and 52 weeks per in which to prepare for the races, Peggy has grown the Valentine Fanconi Anemia 5K Run/Walk substantially. She has banners now, ads in running magazines, a website (www.valentine5k.com), and most importantly still, word-of-mouth. Before the 2007 race Peggy contacted Foot Traffic, a local chain of running stores, via her middle son’s friend’s sister-in-law, who works at the store and asked for their help. (That’s right, her son’s friend’s sister-in-law asked the owner, Sean, for her. She’s connected to everyone in Portland. If you know anyone in Portland it’s only a few more degrees of separation to Peggy.) Sean said yes, Foot Traffic would help her. They have given the race a more professional feel, not to mention prizes from their stores. Oh, and she doesn’t need her bicycle odometer anymore; she has access to the Grant High School measuring wheel, which allows for a precisely measured course. The second and third annual races had over 500 runners each and raised $20,000 and $30,000, respectively—100 percent of which goes to research.

2008 again reset turnout and money records for the race. One runner mentioned to me that he’d seen my article in the paper, and I implored myself to not be such an idealist that I couldn’t admit that it wasn’t a bad thing to do a good thing for a less than perfect reason—even if it makes me look bad. In the same season Peggy spearheaded another FA fund-raiser as part of a competition with Parade Magazine. She raised $65K+ and accepted the first-place prize of an additional $50K—100% of which ($115K+) went to research.

But what about the real did it work? What does Peggy say? Well, when she started this she was scared she might lose money, but thought that even if she could make $1,000 it would be better than nothing. That this year her total amount raised from the races passed $100,000 is beyond her wildest financial dreams. And yet Peggy Padden has bigger dreams for her youngest son who is still without a matching donor. He is healthy now, showing no symptoms, and with luck will stay that way long enough for a major breakthrough in treatment.

Peggy Padden has hope.

And an admirer. She has an admirer, too.
 

Note: By way of clarification, neither interview ended at this point in the story; there’s still the race to get to. I just always get overwhelmed by now, especially when Peggy’s giving a vow that includes, “till death do you part,” and need some room to breathe.