4th Annual GiGi’s Playhouse 5k – Rebecca’s Reason

5k Time is upon us and we are all giddy with excitement! This day is not only a day that helps us raise funds that continue to help GiGi’s grow and thrive in CNY but it is also a day we come together and celebrate. We celebrate our loved ones, we celebrate our growth, we celebrate friendships formed and strengthen through a deep bond.

Registration is now open and we can not wait to see what the Teams will do this year!  Get your team started HERE today!

Kicking off 5k season is our 5k Chair Rebecca Stover answering a question….

Why is GiGi’s Playhouse 5K and Dash for Down syndrome important to Team Sarah?

“In October 2012 GiGi’s Playhouse held its first 5K in Syracuse, NY. The Playhouse was still one month from opening its doors. A devoted group stood at the start line, and among them was me. I was the newcomer, the newbie, fresh from the delivery room practically. Sarah was just two months old and deep down I still felt like I was an outsider. So I stood at the back of the crowd; two good friends by my side, my Mother and son watching from the grass. If you know me, then you can imagine that the back of the crowd is not somewhere I like to be. I wanted so desperately to fit in. These other parents were amazing to me – there was no challenge too big for them to overcome, no fight too hard when it came to their kids. And I stood there, not ready to run my first ever 5K, not ready for the future, wanting so much to jump back into my car and drive home. But the race had begun, runners started pushing forward, and I was getting left behind. In that moment I remember thinking of Sarah. Sweet sweet Sarah. Sarah, who at 2 months old had struggled to eat, who I begged to get the muscle strength to swallow. Sarah, who worked so hard every single day to try to hold up her head, even though the muscles were still weak. I pushed her, I asked more from her every single day. And she kept rising to the challenge.
I promised her when she was born that I would take on the world for her. I would fight every battle she needed me to. But the truth is, I can’t. I can’t be there holding her hand every single day, nor should I. So instead I decided it would better to give her an example to model herself to. Show her what it means to keep going when it hurts. Because that’s real strength; not how much weight you can lift or how fast you can run. It’s how many times you keep getting up when you’ve failed. It is the grace and dignity you can have in failure, which then fuels a fire in you to keep pushing forward. That’s what I hope my daughter learns from me.
So I ran. I ran choking back tears most of the race thinking of how much she means to me. I ran when my body said enough. Because if I was ever going to ask her to keep going when it hurt, I would have to as well. After the finish, I sat on a picnic table surrounded by my new extended GiGi’s family. They were all so welcoming and interested in learning everything about this beautiful new baby girl. It was just the beginning of the Playhouse, but already it was growing by one more family. Since then, GiGi’s Playhouse has grown to currently offer 16 active programs and now serves over 300 families in the Syracuse area in just those few years. It’s now the 4th year of the GiGi’s Playhouse 5K and this year Sarah will be running in the Dash for Down syndrome herself. It’s amazing how the much the two of us have grown, and what we’ve pushed each other to accomplish. From scared Mom to 5K committee chair, from her stroller to “you can’t catch me” dasher.
I’d like to think it’s the example I set, teaching her there can be beauty in failure, and bravery in the attempt. But that fire was always within her, it’s her spirit. She is a spark that ignites others around her. I’m realizing now that she’s the one teaching me these lessons, setting an example for me to follow, pushing me past my perceived limits.
So there is the long and short of it – why is GiGi’s Playhouse 5K important to Team Sarah? For us, it represents being brave, having heart, igniting a fire and having no limits. Please join Team Sarah and all of her friends on August 22 for the 4th Annual GiGi’s Playhouse 5K and Dash for Down syndrome.”

Thank you Rebecca for your beautiful words and the work you are doing to help us have another wonderful event!

Friends start talking to everyone who will listen about this great day and don’t forget to REGISTER! More fun details coming soon!