After tragedy, this Richmond runner is back on the road: 'You don't get to pick what happens to you'

RICHMOND, Va. -- As a young nurse at Retreat Hospital, Terry Miffleton was anything but a runner.

But when some co-workers needed someone to fill out their team for a three-mile race at Byrd Park in Richmond, Miffleton didn't want to be hypocritical to her work.

"It was hard to tell patients you need to do this or that if you don't like to move yourself," she said.

So she trained for that first race and discovered what she called the afterglow of running. She was hooked.

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"Feeling good when you got done. Feeling accomplished. You felt physically good," she said.

Miffleton began to run longer distances and has now completed 76 marathons and several triathlons.

She also picked up a training partner along the way.

She met her husband Chuck when they were students at Hermitage High School in Henrico County.

They married in 1972 and for the better part of a half century have competed together in events across Virginia and around the country.

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She was also there when the Monument Avenue 10K started 25 years ago.

She was part of the comparatively small crowd that finished the first race.

"The early years, you knew people at the races and recognized people. You got to know each other. Now, it's a massive amount of people," she said. "I think it's the enthusiasm. The bands, the community, the support you get. People cheer you up the street on both sides. There's never a place where you don't have somebody clapping for you."

But this year's sign-up period for the 10k came and went without Terry Miffleton's name on the participant list.

The folks at the Sportsbackers noticed but didn't know why Terry had not signed up.

"You don't get to pick what happens to you," Miffleton said. "Stuff happens out of the blue and you just have to try to cope with it."

Last summer, Chuck had a grand mal seizure without any warning. His diagnosis was brain cancer, which altered everything.

Chuck did his best to get back into a training routine but the treatment took its toll.

"Complications sort of set it. Radiation made him really wobbly and the chemo made him weak. A bunch of things started to happen," Miffleton said.

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Normally, Terry Miffleton would have spent the first months of the year getting into shape to run Monument Ave.

This year she was taking care of Chuck.

He passed away on March 14.

Running was one of the last things she was thinking about, but one of the first things that helped her cope.

"The priest said to one of my family members, as soon as you can get back to your regular activities, the better off you're going to be," she said. "It relieves some of the stress and some of the pain. It helps me clear my head a little bit. I just feel better when I'm moving."

Terry Miffleton is hurriedly training to keep her streak alive. Whatever endurance she may lack, some divine intervention might fill in.

"I hope he's looking down and smiling and saying you go ahead," she said. "I think I'll get some motivation from within."

You cannot spend the majority of your life with someone without hearing their voice in your head.

Running may be a solitary pursuit, but Terry still has Chuck with her in spirit.

"That he wants me to be happy. I think that's the biggest thing. Move on, live my life, what's left of it and just be happy," she said.

And running definitely makes her happy.

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