Serene Griffin story

Just Another Runner’s Story February 2021 Written by Gale Fischer

Body, Mind and Soul: the Running Trifecta

“Getting through the journey of life is easier when I run.”

—Serene Griffin

At its most basic level, running can provide participants with a multitude of physical benefits. These rewards are well documented with scientific research. For those who are passionate about the sport, there is so much more to running than a strong heart and healthy lungs. Those who understand these secondary bi-products of our sport are well aware of how a daily run can improve and maintain brain function, stimulating one’s ability to think, learn and reflect. Another element of running that is not lost on its participants is how it can calm and bring clarity to the human soul. Many have experienced how running can turn stress into peace and sadness into happiness. Running has been an integral part of Serene Griffin’s life, this month’s featured runner, for more than three decades. It has blessed her with numerous accolades and positive life experiences but at the end of the day the most important thing that running has given to her is a healthy body, mind and soul. Running has been a constant presence that has sustained her life with balance to navigate through the setbacks she has faced.

Although Serene’s family lineage was tied to athletics, early on it didn’t seem likely that she would eventually become her family’s most decorated athlete. As an elementary and middle school student she was always one of the smartest in her class carrying with her  the stigma of being a geek. She would continue to excel as a student in high school and beyond but eventually she would add jock to her resume.  “My mom was an athlete growing up. She played basketball and tennis. She wanted me to play basketball and tennis but I wasn’t very good at it. She really wanted me to play sports so I decided to try running. I started running cross country in ninth grade.” 

Serene may have chosen running in an attempt to try to appease her mom but she never imagined she would excel as a runner. Serene had other reasons to choose cross country. “I loved it because I liked being outdoors. I liked the idea that it was still a team sport but also individual. I quickly learned that running provided time to think about things and solve problems. I have felt this way all of these years.”

Serene certainly enjoyed the non-competitive components that running offered but eventually she would realize that she could indeed compete. “I really didn’t know what to expect for my first season.  I wasn’t the best runner on my team initially my freshman year but I was by the end of the year.” Although Serene quickly moved up on the pecking order of her team to the top spot her freshman year it still didn’t fully sink in that she was a good runner. “When I ran the district meet my freshman year I finished ahead of girls that I had heard of as having reputations as top notch runners. After that first district meet it finally hit me that running was something I was good at.”  

Serene proved she could excel with her accomplishments in the classroom but being picked on at school and experiences early on as an only child with a not so supportive home environment brought out a timid personality. Her success on the trails and track would change this, blessing her with the confidence she desperately needed. Serene reflected on just a few of the highlights of her high school athletic career. “I ran in the state XC meet in Colorado all four years of high school. By my senior year I was one of the best runners in the surrounding area. My PR was 17:54.”  Serene also experienced success on the oval. “I qualified for the state track meet all four years, running the mile and two mile.”

As the end of Serene’s high school career was coming to a close it was a no-brainer that her time as a student athlete would be extended. “College recruiters started contacting me my senior year. Colorado University recruited me but my mom wanted me to go to an Ivy League school or a military academy. I eventually chose to join the Naval Academy.”  

Although Serene proved that she could handle the demands of being an honor student and high level athlete in high school, attending the Naval Academy was more difficult than expected.  “I ran cross country and track at the Naval Academy. I was on the varsity team my freshman year. Being in the Naval academy was tough. The boot camp atmosphere meshed with high level college classes was very overwhelming. Going to practices and races was a relief from this.”  Being able to get away from the grind of being a student in the Naval Academy provided yet another reminder for Serene that running can offer an escape from the stress of reality. Serene would require knee surgery prior to her junior year and just like that her days as a competitive student athlete were done. 

Serene and her first husband John, who was also a member of the military, would marry after Serene completed her stint with the Naval Academy. After having surgery to repair her injured knee Serene thought her running days had passed her by. She retired her running shoes but soon enough she longed to lace them up again. “I realized after a few years that I missed running. I needed it in my life again so I started back. I wasn’t competitive but would run a few miles at a time a few times a week. I continued to run.”

Life as a working mom and a wife of a military husband left little time to train for long distance events or race competitively but running by herself three or four times a week provided clarity to her busy schedule. John’s military career would have Serene and her family packing their bags often and moving. John and Serene would be blessed with two boys, Joshua being born in 1994 and Matthew in 1996. A major milestone in Serene’s running would occur four years after Matthew was born. “We moved to Hawaii in 1998. I had started running with another girl on base. We decided to sign up for the Honolulu Marathon on a whim. I ran my first  marathon, the Honolulu Marathon in 2000.” Serene really didn’t follow a wise training plan for the Honolulu Marathon, with her longest training run being eight miles, but still finished with a very impressive time of 3:45. 

Although Serene did not catch the marathon bug after her experience in Honolulu she would give it another shot a few years later. “I felt good about my performance but really didn’t put any thought into running another one.”  Serene continued to run. John retired from the Navy in 2001 and their family moved to Kalamazoo, Michigan with both John and Serene taking jobs at Stryker. “Some of my co-workers at Stryker had talked about running the Chicago Marathon. It piqued my interest so I decided to sign up for the Detroit Marathon in 2005. My performance in Detroit was much better than Honolulu with a finishing  time of 3:12.” 

As had happened in high school when she realized that she was good at running, a light bulb went off again with Serene now understanding that she was good at running the marathon distance. “While I was running the Detroit Marathon I heard other runners talking about Boston. I had no idea at that time about the prestige of the Boston Marathon. I went home and researched it and realized how big of a deal it was. My time in Detroit was a qualifying time so I signed up for Boston and ran it in 2006. My time was 3:10.”

Serene had another epiphany after running the Boston Marathon. “I realized that I had run a marathon in three different states and thought it would be cool to run a marathon in each state. I made a goal to run a marathon in each state. Originally I had not made a goal of how long it would take me. I had thought I would run two marathons a year.”  Serene began to feel comfortable with two marathons a year so she decided to up the ante. “A few years later I realized that I could run more than two a year. I was able to check off my final state in 2015 with the West Virginia Marathon. I finished this one in 3:45, the same time as my first marathon in Honolulu.”

When Serene first made her goal of running a marathon in each state in 2006, she had only checked off three states. For her to finish the remaining forty seven-states in nine years was a truly amazing accomplishment. Not bad for a geek turned jock. Serene’s fifty marathon extravaganza was filled with many other experiences. She and John had divorced before she began her fifty state quest and she had remarried. Her husband Don was there to experience as many of the marathons as possible. Serene reflected on some of the highlights of her nine year marathon journey. “One of the goals I had made was to run each marathon in under four hours. I was able to do this for all of my  marathons except for Alaska, Iowa, Maine and Arizona. I did a double weekend marathon once in October of 2013 (Saturday/Sunday) with two marathons in two days, running the New Hampshire Marathon on a Saturday, which I won with a time of 3:20 and a cash prize of $300. I followed that up with another marathon the next day and finished with a time of 4:06 in Maine. In October 2014 I did 3 in one week, (Saturday, Sunday, Saturday, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Delaware), all under four hours. I have won a total of six marathons. I have paced five of the marathons to save money with registration fees. I originally paced to save money but it turned into a source of enjoyment, helping others reach their goals. I was always more nervous before a race that I paced than races I was competing in myself. My marathon PR was in Columbus, Ohio in 2010 with a time of 3:09:08.” 

Sub four hour marathons, first place finishes and a $300 payoff were amazing elements of completing a marathon in each state but there was so much more that Serene was blessed with on this pilgrimage. “Running fifty states was a journey, literally and figuratively. Each marathon was something to look forward to. I enjoyed the journey but once I finished I wished I had savored the journey more. Running in different geographical regions was amazing with plains, in one race to mountains in another. Planning out the trips and making vacations out of some of them was the best.  Meeting new people and making new friends was a huge part of the journey.”

After completing her fifty state goal it now seemed it was time for Serene to catch her breath and just enjoy the simplicity of her sport. “After reaching fifty states I thought about cutting back on running and focusing on half-marathons in Michigan.”  Serene’s running plans would soon be altered. "Beginning in 2016 my body wasn’t feeling right. I was fatigued all the time. I went to my doctor and had some blood work done. The bloodwork came back suggesting a possibility of an auto-immune disease. It started as a connective tissue disease and eventually became lupus.”

Serene’s fatigue and joint pain was a major source of frustration and fear but she continued to lean on running. “By 2018 I could hardly run eight miles. My rheumatologist prescribed medications but my joints would still hurt and I was always exhausted.” Finally Serene seemed to round the corner with her treatment for lupus. “We finally found the right combination with meds. The medication started to work and I was once again able to put in the mileage I was more accustomed to.”

Although lupus has thrown Serene a curveball, she has found a place for running to continue in her life. “Occasionally I’ll have a flare up caused by stress which will cause joint aches and fatigue. My doctor will take care of this with steroids. My doctor encourages exercise because it lubricates the joints and helps oxygen flow through my body. There is a balance with listening to my body and knowing when to back off. Running helps reduce emotional stress which helps with lupus.”  Some might use lupus as an excuse to slow down and reduce exercise level but staying active has helped Serene keep this disease under control. Her mindset is a great example for many. 

Serene’s lupus was under control, she was running regularly and it seemed that all in life was perfect again but she and Don would experience another setback. “Don started exhibiting signs of early on-set dementia in 2017. He was only fifty-six years old. Eventually he wasn’t able to work anymore. By the middle of 2020 I couldn’t leave him alone because the dementia had progressed. Fortunately COVID had me working from home so I could be with him but I wasn’t able to run as much because I had to be home with him.” 

Serene was so busy working and taking care of Don that she didn’t miss running but at the same time she desperately needed running in her life. “By spring of 2021 his dementia had progressed so much that I was having a hard time working and sleeping. I couldn’t run at all. Don required twenty four hour care. Watching the progression of this disease is the most devastating and heartbreaking thing that I have had to deal with. Hospice started helping at home in May of 2021, but I was encouraged to find alternate care because of safety concerns.” Serene and Don’s home couldn’t provide what Don needed. Moving Don into a nursing home was the safest and most sensible option. Don moved into a nursing home in July of 2021. Having Don move away from home has been difficult. 

Watching helplessly as her husband loses his independence has truly been a gut wrenching time for Serene. Having the opportunity to reunite with running has been one positive. “Everything that has happened since July has been an emotional drain but it has given me the opportunity to start running again which has helped pull me out of depression. I used to not run with others but have met others to run with recently. Ever since I lost Don to this disease running with others has helped distract me through the pain. Running makes me happy but to be able to be with others who make me laugh. You can’t beat that. It is my support system.” 

Running has something that has defined who Serene is since she laced up her first pair of running shoes in high school. For those who are passionate about this sport it becomes a lifeline. She can’t imagine life without running, especially at this season of her life. “If I can’t run, I might as well go back to bed and die.”

Serene’s journey with running has been a major theme in almost every chapter of her life. She has accomplished amazing things through the sport from all state high school performances, to a career running for the Naval Academy and running a marathon in each state over the course of a decade. As impressive as these accolades are, Serene is the ultimate example of the potential that running has in enhancing your life. It all started by turning a shy school aged girl into a confident athlete, showing her that she could accomplish most anything she worked at. It gave her a much needed boost of confidence. It has helped her maintain her health through a diagnosis of lupus. Perhaps more importantly than anything else it is a bright light  in her search for something positive to get through each day dealing with a spouse who continues to decline with dementia. Her days are not necessarily filled with happiness but for an hour or two each day running can bring a smile to her face. Hopefully as time goes on running can extend this smile the remainder of the day.

Everyone has a story. Stay tuned next month for another runner’s story.