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As part of the weekend in Houston that saw athletes competing in Olympic Trials, there was also a half marathon that attracted participants from every possible quarter – runners from other countries, states and cities, some with disabilities in racing wheelchairs, others being pushed in strollers or led by fellow runners – and crowds of enthusiastic well-wishers cheering them on.

Robin and her daughter Jaclyn

Among those in the half marathon were the mother and daughter team of Robin Mueck, Heritage Texas Properties’ President and CEO, and Jaclyn Mueck, Director of Digital Strategies. Robin, who has spent a year or more working with a nutritionist to improve her health, eating right, exercising and, in the process, losing more than 45 pounds, dreamt of running such a race but had never attempted one. Impressed by the change in her mother’s fitness, “hit the ground running” took on new meaning and Jaclyn challenged Robin to run this race, offering to run alongside her. Sunday, the dream came true. To honor her deceased father, Jack King, and her aunt, Betty Filpi, Robin ran to raise money for CanCare. Just before the race, Jaclyn gave her mom a “bravelet” (bracelets that say to be brave but also raise money for charity – see bravelet.com) created by a good friend of Jaclyn.

Sandy Benson, Lacey Cannon, Mike Welch and Candi Wood lending support

Further support came from Chief Operating Officer Betty Karp, who not only organized the many supporters and strategically placed them throughout the course of the race, she also jumped in and ran alongside the girls for awhile. Likewise, at Mile 10, so did Virginia Mangum. Virginia, who just celebrated her 70th birthday and has won many races in her career, joined them (and, Robin points out, did so with no effort or heavy breathing) to lend her encouragement.  

At spots throughout the race, they encountered other associates, friends, and family who had gathered to cheer them on. Among them: members of Heritage’s management team, Candi Wood, Sandy Benson, Debbie Youens with husband John Youens, and Paul Silverman with his daughter; agents Tongela Clark and Lacey Cannon; as well as employees Lynne Hendrix, Alice Neary, and Nancy Harris, all braving the 40 degree temps yelling “Go Robin! Go Jaclyn!”  Family members included husband/father Jerry Mueck, son/brother Colby Mueck, Robin’s sister Holly Wade with fiancé Greg, and friends Judy Dillingham, Mike Welch and Brent Reed.

Virginia Mangum joins the race

“The sounds of the crowds and views of the city were remarkable,” says Robin. “As a native Houstonian, I thought I had seen everything in Houston. Wrong! The sights, the comparisons of old and new Houston along the route, the determination of physically impaired athletes, the hoopla teams, total strangers who have nothing more on their minds than to say ‘you can do it!’ were all beyond my wildest imagination. To see my Heritage friends and family rooting (many of whom are not morning people!) was just what I needed to inspire me.  While I have trained for many, many months and had wonderful weather on race day, the mental toughness it took is something I underestimated.”

Celebrating the finish

“The icing on the cake was that Jaclyn, a strong athlete and fast runner, chose to run with me, rather than in her group. Crossing the finish line and feeling her grab my hand as we crossed will forever remain in my heart and mind. To look up and see the faces of friends glowing with joy, the Heritage logo on huge posters and seeing my name and hearing people screaming as we approached the finish line was simply the best.”

“To top it off, that night, after spending hours on an ice pack and taking an ice bath, I piled frozen bags of okra on my aching muscles and indulged with family and dear friends for the first time in what seems like zillions of days with a cold martini, and a chocolate soufflé…Life is good. What a journey!

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Tags: Betty Karp, Bravelet.com, CanCare, Candi Wood, Debbie Youens, Jaclyn Mueck, Jerry Mueck, Lacey Cannon, Paul Silverman, Robin Mueck, Sandy Benson, Tongela Clark

This entry was posted by phyllis on Wednesday, January 18th, 2012 at 3:56 pm and is filed under Our Heritage, Our People - Our Strength, Out & About, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.