Three miles and counting: Scalf finds personal victory in running

My friend Abby Scalf and I laugh about it now.

But she wasn't laughing months ago when she was about to do a three-mile run on her treadmill.

"There's no way I can do three miles, Trish," she would say. "I've never run three miles in my life. I mean, it's three miles!"

Now, three miles is like a warm-up for Abby.

She's barely taken a sip of her water or listened to even a fraction of the songs on her favorite running mix three miles into the 20-plus mile treks that lead her across the far North suburbs.

Yep, Abby has come a long way. Literally.

From those early three-mile runs full of doubt and fear, Abby has evolved into a serious and determined runner who will participate in her first Chicago Marathon on Sunday.

That's almost nine three-mile runs, Abby!

"It's so funny to think about how just three miles worried me like that," said Abby (nee Krakow), 36, of Round Lake Beach. "It kind of amazes me what I'm doing now. I don't consider myself an athlete by any stretch of the imagination. I did some soccer in high school (at Hersey in the late 1980s), but I never really ran. And I never did any running in college, even for fitness. I never thought I would be doing anything like this."

And the running has been just the half of it.

Abby has some compelling elements to her story. She's been dealing with a cancer scare in the family and a serious knee injury. She's juggling young kids (6-year-old Molly and 4-year-old Harrison), a job here at the Daily Herald as Lake County's community news writer ... and a feisty new puppy.

Every Monday at the office, I get the lowdown from Abby about how her last week of training went.

There was the high of her first double-digit run - a 10-mile trek up and down Rollins Road.

"For some reason, just hitting that double-digit mark, it was like, 'I can actually do long-distance running. I'm finishing and I'm not dead afterwards.' It was that moment where I was like, 'I'm sticking to this.' "

Abby's resolve would be tested.

In May, she learned that her husband, Randy, who has run two marathons and sparked her interest in the first place, had been diagnosed with skin cancer. Abby kept training, but her thoughts were often elsewhere.

"Randy had surgery and he's been cleared, but that was a very difficult part of our lives," Abby said. "It was on my mind a lot. The nice thing about running is that you can kind of empty your mind and de-stress. That's one of the things I've liked most about running."

Dislikes? That's easy.

Last month, Abby's body hit the wall. She was on a seven-mile run through downtown Round Lake when her left knee screamed in agony. Shooting pains radiated in every direction.

"I broke down in tears walking down Cedar Lake Road and I didn't even care if anyone saw me," Abby said. "My knee hurt a lot. The thing is, I wasn't even really crying that much about the pain. I was crying because it was like, 'This cannot be happening right now. I've trained too long.' "

An athletic trainer told Abby she likely tore some cartilage and should take at least a week off, more if possible. One week later, Abby was running again. Her knee was sore. It still is.

"I used to be nervous about whether or not I could run a certain distance, or if I could do the whole 26.2 miles. Now, my knee makes me even more nervous," Abby said. "But I need to finish what I started. I've never been quite so committed to something where I just need to see it through.

"I guess this process is just such a boost to self-esteem. It makes you feel like you can do more than you really ever thought you could."

Like run three miles. And many, many more.

pbabcock@dailyherald.com 512413Daily Herald reporter Abby Scalf prepares to run the Chicago Marathon.Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer 315512Daily Herald reporter Abby Scalf prepares to run the Chicago Marathon.Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer 355512Daily Herald reporter Abby Scalf prepares to run the Chicago Marathon.Gilbert R. Boucher II | Staff Photographer