Phil + Anthrôpos

By Eric Peters

The Ancient Greeks gave us – among other things – the word philanthropy, which literally means to love people (phil- + anthrôpos). They are also responsible for the story that led to modern day marathon running.

More than one thousand years after those Hellenistic contributions, the Sikhism religion posited, “As she has planted, so does she harvest …”

When Suzi Weaver was 14 years old, she had no idea that she was about to set into motion events that would culminate in these three ancient concepts interacting to place her life’s dream within reach.

Marathon

Weaver, now assistant director of the VCU Office of Environmental Health and Safety, was sitting in the study with her father as a young teenager watching TV when they came upon a channel showing an Ironman competition. Ironman competitions are the longest variety of triathlon. They expand heavily on the classic marathon, requiring participants to swim 2.4 miles and bicycle 112 miles before finally running the grueling 26.2-mile marathon.

The competition Weaver and her father found that day just so happened to be the 1982 Ironman World Championship from Hawaii, in which college student Julie Moss – in front of millions of viewers the world over – collapsed several times at the end of the race, eventually having to crawl toward the finish line.

“Seeing that was so impactful on me as a young girl,” Weaver said. “Since that time, the first thing on any bucket list I have ever made has been to complete the Hawaii Ironman competition.”

Competition in the Hawaii Ironman is by invitation only – it is the world championship after all – and short of placing in one of the selected annual Ironman events across the globe or winning a small yearly lottery, invitations are close to nonexistent.

“As I raced year after year I fell more and more in love with the sport but I also began to see that the likelihood of me beating out everyone in my age group (sometimes 100+) for one qualifying spot was slim to none,” Weaver said.  “So for 10 years straight I turned to the lottery for a one-in-thousands chance at that golden ticket - no luck there either.”

So, realizing the Hawaii world championships were likely out of reach, Weaver decided she was tired of waiting and planned to compete in the 2013 Florida Ironman competition scheduled for Nov. 2.

A lifelong competitor and a runner since her 20s, Weaver has completed two marathons, several triathlons and two half-Ironmans. All impressive feats, but the Florida Ironman will be a far greater undertaking than anything she has done to this point in time.

“I love testing myself, I have no idea if I can do this,” she said. “I know that when I finished those two half-Ironmans I did not feel like doing it all over again.”

As Weaver began to train for what she thought would be her ultimate test, she explored various options for competing in the event (i.e. individually or as part of a team), and one day, out of the blue, that other gift from the Greeks – philanthropy – introduced itself into her life.

Philanthropy

Weaver’s partner, a social worker, convinced her to join the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation PowerTeam, which carries with it a minimum commitment of $4,000 in donations.

“I was reluctant to raise money at first because I had never done it before and didn’t know how,” said Weaver. “I also didn’t know much about multiple myeloma.”

As she learned more about the disease and began spreading the word among family, friends and colleagues about her recent undertaking, Weaver found that the disease was affecting many people from each of those groups in her life.

“It is all around you and you don’t realize,” she said.

According to the Multiple Myeloma Research Foundation, the disease is an incurable blood cancer, and although progress has been made in its treatment, the five-year relative survival rate remains one of the lowest of all cancers.

Fueled by her knowledge of the prevalence and destructive nature of multiple myeloma, Weaver quickly hit her fundraising stride.

“It became a vehicle to allow a community to come together,” she said. “It’s synergistic, it’s like magic.”

That community has grown to include the fun and the sentimental. One of her high school friends who owns a café in North Carolina named a smoothie after her, The Suzi Smoothie, with proceeds benefiting the cause.

And in one of the most poignant moments of the whole experience, the mother of an old friend and wife of Michaux "Shack" Raine III, who lost his battle with multiple myeloma in 2010, donated to Weaver’s campaign. To show her appreciation and respect, Weaver plans to wear the name “Shack” on her jersey when she competes in November.

“It’s amazing to see it take on a life of its own,” she said. “People really do want to do important good things, and if you ask for their help they will help you.”

Thanks to her efforts and the generous people who were willing to give to the MMRF, donations from Weaver’s supporters surpassed the $4,000 minimum within the first month.

“I didn’t know if I would ever get to $4,000,” she said. “And we made it in the first month.”

Little did Weaver know, an even bigger surprise was on its way.

“As she has planted, so does she harvest …”

Weaver found in her email inbox one day a message from MMRF. Expecting a routine correspondence from the foundation for which she had already raised thousands of dollars, what she got was anything but.

The email indicated that the Multiple Myeloma PowerTeam organizers had secured a bid to the Hawaii Ironman competition to be given to the team’s top fundraiser.

“I can't describe the jolt that went through me when I read that news,” Weaver said.

She immediately wrote to her friends, family and donors explaining how her dream had just come full circle, and about a new perspective the opportunity provided.

“It was a big wake-up call for me and it gave me the clarity to see two big mistakes I was making,” Weaver wrote. “#1.  Never water down your dream, no matter how improbable it seems, you never know what turn of events will occur to put it back on the table; #2.  At the end of the day, be sure you can say you did ALL you could.  I was so focused on the minimum $4,000 (which seemed so big) but I should have been asking myself, ‘how much higher could we get?’”

Invigorated far beyond her previous level of motivation, Weaver increased her official fundraising goal to $20,000.

And now, the amazing thing is, competing in Hawaii isn’t Weaver’s number one motivation.

“Regardless if I get to Hawaii or not, I know the right thing to do is raise as much money as possible,” she said. “I want to be able to say I did everything I could and left it all on the table for MMRF.”

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According to Weaver’s fundraising website, MMRF has raised more than $20 million since 1998, “making it the world's leading private funder of myeloma research to deliver new treatments to patients faster. The work of the MMRF contributed to the FDA approval of four drugs for multiple myeloma in just four years – a track record unparalleled in oncology. Due to their success in myeloma, these same drugs are now being explored as potential treatments for more than 30 other cancers.”

To donate, visit http://www.active.com/donate/2013mmrfIMPanama/IMSWeaver.

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