http://www.townonline.com/allston/news/local_regional/ab_covablucero04172003.htm
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If Cynthia Lucero had crossed the
finish line of the 2002 Boston Marathon, it is possible only friends and
family would have remembered her triumph. But when Lucero, a 28-year-old Waltham
woman raising money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, collapsed just
four miles from her destination, her life - and her death - took on a greater
meaning for marathoners and spectators alike. Lucero saw the marathon as "an opportunity
to realize you were capable of much more than you imagined," said her
coach, Rick Muhr. And this year more than 160 marathoners
will attempt to realize their own potential, running the 107th Boston
marathon in her memory. Lucero's own brother-in-law, Jim Sterling,
will travel from New York to run wearing her old number, 15,611. Lucero collapsed in Cleveland Circle
during the 2002 Boston Marathon, lapsed into a comma and was removed from
life support. Lucero died of hyponatremia, or water
intoxication, which is a relatively uncommon ailment that occurs among
runners, causing swelling in the brain. The condition is usually not lethal. The last time that Muhr saw Lucero alive
was at mile 15 in Wellesley, where the team often trained. Lucero's parents, who had traveled from
Ecuador to see their daughter run, were waiting at the finish line, wondering
where their daughter was. They would never see her cross that line in Copley
Square. After a positive early prognosis, Lucero's
condition failed to improve as doctors had hoped. The very night of a Leukemia and Lymphoma
Society Team in Training victory party for Lucero and her teammates,
Cynthia's parents made the difficult decision to remove their daughter from
life support. "What normally would have been an
extreme cause of celebration turned out to be one of my most difficult days
in life," said Muhr of the victory party turned memorial. "I had to
stand there and tell them [Lucero's teammates] that Cynthia was going to be
take off life support." But even in death, Lucero continued to
give. Her corneas, lungs, heart, liver and kidneys were donated to local
patients. Lucero had completed her doctoral thesis
in clinical psychology on the therapeutic effects of marathon training on
families of cancer victims less than a week before the race. "I saw her at the top of the mountain
and then I saw her lose her life just a few days later," said Muhr.
"It was a very bittersweet observation of the life cycle for me." Muhr says that Cynthia had chosen the perfect
career. She was able to empathize without having experienced pain, to
understand what other people were feeling in a way most people can't, says
Muhr. But most of all, says Muhr, Lucero was an
example of the way life should be lived every day. "She has a difficult time keeping her
excitement to herself," said Muhr. "She has a little girl's
enthusiasm," epitomized by her reaction to completing her first
marathon, the San Diego Rock and Roll Marathon. "She jumped into my arms and kind of
screamed," said Muhr. She smiled the whole way across the finish
line despite just having run more than 26 miles. Lucero gained an appreciation for life
"much earlier... than most people," said Muhr. "Most people
don't ever realize these things, and I probably never would have realized had
Cynthia not come into my life." Muhr said that he and his wife, Lori, have
committed their lives to living simply, without worry or hate, and have
learned to give more and expect less, all things they say they learned from
Lucero. "She did them daily, just waking up
every day believing that she could make a difference in the world. She went
about doing it in little ways and big ways and very anonymous ways,"
said Muhr. This year Muhr will help keep that spirit
alive by coaching his own team of runners across the finish line that Lucero
never had the chance to cross. He said he will run along with his runners in
many places, taking breaks to drive ahead and catch up with his team. Muhr said that Lucero was "proud to
be a marathoner... It was just another adventure to her." Phoebe Sweet can be reached at
Psweet@cnc.com.
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