Record setter strides through Destin: Goes coast-to-coast for fitness

For Helene Neville, running is more than therapeutic.

As a cancer survivor who continues to struggle with the possibility malignancy, her first instinct has always been to take to the road, and so far, running has been the best treatment.

Since May 1 Neville has been running across the United States and on Monday and Tuesday, she made her way through the Destin area.

“This is bigger than me, this run,” said Neville. “I did myself a favor by seeing the country on foot.”

The “southern” route that she has chosen has never been attempted in the heat of the summer and has never been completed in less than 100 days. Right now, Neville is on pace for 94.

Averaging more than 25 miles per day, she is enduring the 2,520-mile trek to “deliver the essential message of healthy living to health care practitioners on the front line of patient care – nurses – across the country.” Along the way, she has been visiting hospitals, and spreading her message to willing listeners.

Neville has always led a healthy lifestyle. As a life-long runner and after a career as a nurse, she appreciates fitness as much as anyone. But in the 1990’s, that lifestyle was interrupted by the diagnosis of Hodgkin’s, which eventually spread to her brain.

While living in Des Moines, Iowa, doctors’ prognosis became grim, and Neville decided to leave the hospital.

In 1998, after minimal training, she made the trip to Chicago for the city’s annual Marathon.

In an interview with The Log, she recalled discussing training methods at the starting line with her competitors, who were amazed to hear her story. But upon completion of the 26.2 miles, no one was more surprised than Neville, who crossed the finish line in four-and-a-half hours. She has since gone on to complete multiple marathon events, including the London race, with a time of three hours and 10 minutes.

“The faster I run, the better I feel,” said Neville.

Since then, Neville hasn’t stopped. She has also written “Nurses in shape,” a health and fitness book, which is being promoted on the run.

But the current trip has turned out to be more for Neville than she expected. It has provided the opportunity to meet new people and to experience interesting places.

The mayor of Las Cruces, N.M., Ken Miyagishima, greeted Neville as she entered town, and after that day’s run, took her to every radio station in town.

“Everyone has been so receptive,” Neville said. “This has changed my whole opinion of Texas. I can’t explain how hospitable they were.”

Another highlight of the trip came on July 4, when she doubled her daily mileage allotment by running 50 miles.

Neville has also been aware of her safety the entire trip, but says she has never really had to worry.

“I never felt scared,” she said. “Even in Baytown, Texas. A guy chased me, but I knew I could outrun him.”

Along the way, Neville has set up temporary “bases” where she stays in an RV that was donated by a friend. Most of the time, she has been able to receive rides to and from her daily run from volunteers, but at the beginning of the trip, she had to resort to hitching.

In Destin, she set up shop at Henderson Beach State Park.

“We’ve been having a ball,” said Martha Crowder, who has been volunteering to travel with and assist Neville since Lake Charles, La. “She’s been so kind to let me come along.”

Through all the joy that the journey has provided, a stop in Phoenix added a somber feeling, revealing that she now has thyroid cancer.

Neville’s trip will culminate in Jacksonville Beach, where she says a “major production” awaits. After the trip, she will find out about the steps that must be taken to treat her latest illness.

For more information visit oneontherun.com

“I am living proof that if you’re alive, there’s hope,” said Neville.