“I started dreaming about running,” says Liz Dooley, recalling the late summer of 2010 when she spent more time in the hospital than at home.
Her newborn daughter, Finley, was born with a rare birth defect called congenital diaphragmatic hernia (CDH), a condition that prevented her diaphragm and lungs from developing properly. Her chances of surviving were 40 to 50 percent.
That was the last time she’d attempted to run—until Finley was born.
“I was being torn in two,” Dooley says. “I’m a control freak, and yet I couldn’t do anything to save my baby.”
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In her dreams, she ran effortlessly down a path. Running felt magical—even though in real life, she hadn’t run in two years because of a long chain of injuries.
Could she somehow bring that magic to life? She needed to do something to help her cope. And she was tired of sitting on the sidelines.
She decided to create a race in honor of her daughter, whether Finley survived or not. And she would try to run again herself, too.
“A race seemed to make so much sense as I watched Finley hooked up to respirators, fighting for every breath, having the machines breathe for her,” Dooley explains.
An entrepreneur, Dooley got going on her plans with the same tenacity that helped her launch a successful staffing agency in Portland, Oregon, where she lives with her family. She’d never organized a race before, but she’d figure it out.
As for running again—that might be tougher.
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“In high school, I was definitely a nerd, not an athlete,” she says, preferring debate club and drama to sports.
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“I started running, but I always got side aches, which was actually a problem even when I was a kid. I always thought I wasn’t a good runner,” she says.
But she persevered, and ran some 5Ks with her husband, Jon. Eventually, the side cramps disappeared and she started running farther; however, once she hit five miles, she got sidelined with IT Band syndrome. So she went to see a physical therapist.
“He sort of told me that I wasn’t built to be a runner. And he gave me exercises that didn’t really help me. So I did other things—the elliptical trainer and Pilates for a few years,” she says.
When her first daughter, Rowan, was born, she tried to run again—this time with other moms pushing their babies in strollers to exercise stations. She walked first, then started running a little bit until she injured her hamstring doing hill sprints one day.
She was diagnosed with high hamstring tendinopathy, “which is literally a pain in your butt,” she explains. “I thought maybe my body really wasn’t made for running.”
That was the last time she’d attempted to run—until Finley was born.
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“Overjoyed doesn’t do it justice,” Dooley says. “I was going home—with Finley. We were going to be a family of four.”
But once they got home, Dooley says she had to deal with post-traumatic stress disorder.
“The fear that comes after living with not knowing if your baby will survive doesn't just go away,” Dooley explains. “Especially with a birth defect that has a long arm. Of those that go home, many still don't make it to their second birthday because of complications of CDH and fragile lungs.”
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Two weeks after Finley got home, Dooley embarked on a couch-to-5K program, starting on the treadmill. In January 2011, she ran 3.1 miles and felt good.
She also started going to a sports medicine clinic for chiropractic care, sports massage, and strength training—all of which she attributes to helping her move past the three-mile mark without injury.
In March, she ran an 8K. Then a 10K. Next, a half marathon. In 2013, she ran her first marathon. And a second in 2014, during which she carried a list of 26 names.
“Each mile was for either a CDH survivor or an angel, so when it got hard, I remembered how hard these babies fought for each breath. I would pray for them and their families. Mile 20 was for Finley. Whenever I wanted to give up, I remembered that she never did,” Dooley says.
Now, at age 40, Dooley is running stronger than ever. In fact, this fall, she’s a volunteer pacer for a marathon training group, helping others get to the finish line.
But the race closest to Dooley’s heart is the one she created.
The annual Ladybug Run for CDH Awareness, named after the “Ladybug” wing of the neonatal intensive care unit where Finley spent the first seven weeks of her life, has raised more than $65,000 for kids with CDH since its inauguration in 2012.
Just before Finley’s fifth birthday, the popular Portland-area run—with participants of all ages wearing black and red wings—sold out for the first time.
Turns out, Dooley wasn’t only built to run—she was made to fly.
Cate Hotchkiss is a freelance writer, marathoner, and mom who lives in Hood River, Oregon. She blogs about running at gorgegirlruns.blogspot.com.
