The support isn’t anything new, but the lack of sleep will be.
Camas resident Jane Connell, 58, is training for a 4-by-4-by-48 challenge, where she’ll tackle running or walking 4 miles every four hours over a 48-hour period.
“It’s going to be tough,” Connell said. “Primarily, the breaking up of my sleep, because I protect my sleep with everything. I really get my seven hours of sleep. This is really going to be a broken up two nights of sleep.”
But Connell has good reason to be sleep deprived through the weekend — she’s participating in the challenge as part of a Beyond Brave fundraiser to help her daughter, Kristen Morris, get a track wheelchair. Morris, 28, served 4 1/2 years in the United States Air Force “as a badass pilot,” as Connell put it.
She played soccer for the U.S. Air Force Academy, too, and sports were a central part of her life. But in college, she started to experience issues with her hips and was later diagnosed with hip dysplasia. She’s undergone hip surgeries and can’t participate in high-impact running anymore.
That means soccer, and other sports that require running, aren’t available to Morris.
“A core part of my life involved running,” said Morris, who lives in Destin, Fla., with her husband. “To have that taken away with no notice was shocking and frustrating, and it took a whole lot to be OK with it.”
Connell said she’s inspired by the ways in which Morris has continued to be active and competitive, even after the surgeries.
Morris cycles — and has gone scuba diving — and when she competed with the Air Force at the Department of Defense Warrior Games earlier this year, she used a track wheelchair to compete in track events. She also competed in sitting volleyball, wheelchair basketball, cycling and swimming.
Morris recently used a track wheelchair in competitions at the Invictus Games in Sydney, Australia, which was created by Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. Morris met her childhood hero and soccer icon David Beckham at the games, and he signed her gold medal.
But when Morris used track wheelchairs for those competitions, they were lent to her. That’s why Connell is taking on this challenge — so Morris can have a chair of her own.
“When you’ve got a reason to do something that’s bigger than yourself, that makes it more doable,” Connell said of the challenge.
Connell trained for a couple of weeks and said she enjoys running, which she’s done regularly since high school. Although she may have to walk on some of the outings, she said she is confident in her ability to complete the challenge. She ran Hood to Coast a few years ago and prefers this setup, she said.
“In between my runs, I get to come home and sleep in my own bed,” Connell said. “I get to use my toilet, and I get to eat my own healthy foods.”
Connell said once Morris gets her own track wheelchair, she’d like to do triathlons or marathons with her.
“It’d be really cool for her and I to do them together,” she said.
Morris said she’s appreciated how her mom has encouraged others to donate and participate.
Connell welcomes anyone to run or walk with her this weekend. She will start at 9 p.m. at the parking lot for the Lacamas Athletic Club, 2950 N.W. 38th Ave., Camas. She will run at 1 a.m., 5 a.m., 9 a.m., 1 p.m., 5 p.m. and 9 p.m. Saturday, with the same run times scheduled Sunday but ending with the 5 p.m. run. Her daylight runs — 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. — will start at the bottom of the Heritage Trail near the brick bathroom in the parking lot.
People who participate must GPS upload their entries to the 2018 Fusion 4x4x48 Challenge to benefit the Beyond Brave Strava Club page: strava.com/clubs/477747. The challenge must be completed by 12:59 p.m. Nov. 13. To register, visit: fusionsportsusa.com/products/2018-4x4x48-registration.
If you’d like to donate, but not participate in the challenge, visit Beyond Brave’s donations page, and add that you would like Kristen Morris to get your donation in the special instructions box: www.beyondbrave.org/donate
