PONTA VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – A Ponta Vedra Beach woman is running in an inaugural Georgia half-marathon in mid-November.
Robyn Carr is not only doing it because she loves running. She is paying tribute to someone dear to her heart.
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Carr has a passion for running and is competing in a half-marathon in Savannah’s downtown historic district on Nov. 15.
“It was something that was an outlet for me,” she said. “Being able to have that strength and ability to run, to be healthy, and have a full life after is a really important message for people who are fighting cancer.”
Carr is familiar with cancer battles. She is a breast cancer survivor after being diagnosed in 2015.
“It is realizing after having going through six months of chemotherapy, six weeks of radiation, multiple surgeries and then after being on an oral chemotherapy drug for seven months, it takes a toll on your body,” she said. “I have been a runner before.”
But this story gets even more personal.
Carr’s husband, Robert, was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2014.
He was in remission when Robyn discovered her cancer. Soon after she was declared cancer-free, his returned.
“My husband was a runner as well,” Carr said. “He would tell you that he was slower than molasses in the winter, but it was something that he really enjoyed. When he was first diagnosed, he told his boys that ‘I am going to run a marathon when I am done with this and I beat it.’”
Carr said she and her husband fighting their respective diseases simultaneously helped them learn things about each other and themselves.
“One thing we learned is how important it is to have a positive attitude and we tried to never lose our sense of humor about it.,” she said. “You can cry or you can laugh. Crying gives us a headaches, so we would rather laugh. Not to say that there weren’t tears and upset times. Obviously there were. But we would say ‘alright, our pity party is over. It is time to get back to work.’”
Robert’s fight came to an end in May 2017 as he died from lung cancer. He was 51 years old.
The Carrs were married for 29 years. They had five children and four grandchildren before he died.
Robyn says she will carry her husband’s memory on every stride when she runs in November’s half-marathon. They used to race together in places like Las Vegas, North Carolina and Orlando.
“There have been times where I have felt my husband near me when I run, when I feel like I can’t keep going,” Robyn said. “It is like, ‘come on, come on. You can keep doing this. You can finish this race.’ I hope I feel that and I hope that I am inspiring to some people.”
Robyn told News4Jax she wants to encourage people whether they are fighting cancer right now or not to do activities that are good for their physical and mental health.
The Savannah Southern Half marathon is making history as it is the first one of its kind. The race is scheduled for Nov. 15 starting at 8 a.m.