Rebecca Chelmick had been waiting for the Edmonton Marathon for months, knowing it was going to be much more than just a race for her.
Sunday marked the day she would help her late mother accomplish a goal she never got to while she was alive.
Chelmick first got into running three years ago, when she ran a half marathon with her mom’s support.
“My mom was there to watch me cross the finish line,” Chelmick said, savouring the memory.
“She was just beaming. She was so, so happy for me. It was like I ran halfway around the world.”
At the time, her mom, Linda Benham, had already been on the waiting list for a liver transplant for six months. Benham had liver failure.
“I cared for my mom while she was awaiting a liver transplant,” Chelmick remembered. “We never received one. She passed away on March 31 of this year.”
Benham was 65 years old.
Before she died, she expressed a desire to run a race like her daughter – even it if was just one or five kilometres. She never got that opportunity.
“I decided to run the half marathon this year and I’m carrying her ashes across the finish line, so she can cross this line,” Chelmick said – fighting through tears.
She dedicated her Edmonton Marathon run to her mom.
“There’s part of me that wishes my mom was running here beside me – but she’s going to be here with me every step of the way.”
Chelmick thought of her mom throughout the race.
“She’d be really proud. I think she’s going to help me cross that finish line.”
Chelmick also hoped to inspire others to help people like her mom.
“I hope to bring some awareness to the importance of being an organ donor and how we all have the ability to one day save a life.”
She hopes by sharing her story, others will register to donate their organs. In the case of liver transplants, live donors are also accepted.
Chelmick’s family cheered her on the whole way, helping her push through the pain.
Her husband, Chris, said running has been therapeutic for his wife.
“She’s sort of saying goodbye to the physical part of her mom and embracing the spiritual part of her mom. She knows that’s going to be with her forever.”
After 21 kilometres, Chelmick’s son passed his mom his grandma’s urn.
Together, they raced towards the finish line – sharing a heartfelt moment together, on the road to healing.
“I’m so happy I was able to do it. This is for her!”