This past weekend, Bethany-Fenwick Area Chamber of Commerce Membership Director Carrie Subity and her sister-in-law, Nikki Basile, were two of 20,000 people to run a marathon in San Diego benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Subity said they’d run in honor of her father, Pete Basile, who has non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The cancer has been in remission for the past nine years.
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Nikki Basile, left, and Carrie Subity were all smiles after completing a recent marathon benefiting the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society in San Diego, Calif. They were even happier that they could could run the marathon in honor of Carrie’s father and Nikki’
Pete Basile said he was very appreciative of their gesture.
“It’s hard for me to even put it into words,” Pete said. “And it’s very difficult for me to express my love and gratitude for them to run for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society Foundation in my honor.
“Luckily, I’m OK. But it was a real honor and I was certainly humbled that they were willing to do that on my behalf. And I was elated that they made it across (the finish line) with smiles on their faces,” he added.
Subity hadn’t ever run a marathon before, though she had been keeping active through club field hockey. But the sisters-in-law dedicated themselves to running through the Team in Training program once they made the decision to participate.
“We trained for almost five months,” Subity said, “and pretty much ran five to six days a week.”
Previously, Subity noted, 3 miles had been her longest run. But she upped that number to 8 when they started training. And by the end of the five months, they were cruising for 20 miles on each run.
“We had great coaches and a great support system from our family,” she said.
And once they’d started the race, throngs of supporters — mostly survivors, family members of those had survived and those currently battling the diseases — showered them with praise and thanks. It kept them going.
“From 6 a.m. to the finish, there was a bunch of bands playing along the way, and that helped motivate us. But what was really unbelievable was all the people that were out there supporting us,” Subity said. “There was one lady who was holding a sign that said, ‘Thanks for saving my daughter’s life.’ And when I started feeling doubtful about finishing the race, I thought about that.”
Subity mentioned that her father was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma only “a couple weeks before I headed off to college at Ohio University.” There was nothing she could do for him during that time, though she desperately wished she could. And after nearly a decade, finally, she’s had a chance to support those who need it most.
“It was very tough to see the strongest person in our family go through something like this,” Subity said. “I was in complete shock. And that’s when I realized that it can happen to anybody. It doesn’t matter how good of shape you’re in.
“But he definitely persevered and battled through it,” she added.
Pete Basile had been an athlete his entire life, playing football and wrestling throughout high school, and eventually began running marathons and triathlons as an adult.
“It was Nikki’s idea to run a marathon, but I figured if we were going to do it, it might as well be for a good cause,” Subity said.
Of the 20,000 marathoners, 5,000 combined to raise $12 million to go toward research into the diseases. Subity and Basile each raised $10,000.
Subity had plenty of time during the marathon to think about the joys of life — especially in the last 6 miles, which she said were the toughest. Following the marathon, Subity and her immediate family were able to spend the week in the San Diego area for a vacation in what Pete called a “special time.”