Running The Playa For Cancer Awareness: An Update from Jerry

A few months ago Jerry Dodson walked into the Playacommunity office. Jerry told us the heart-wrenching story of how him and his wife battled illnesses fighting for their retirement here in Panama. Their story and the support it has garnered touched us all. Marj and Jerry made the decision to move to Panama in 2009. To their dismay 2010 brought a whirlwind of medical complications. In February of 2010 Marj was diagnosed with two types of cancer. Jerry, who was recovering from a stroke at the time, expressed to us how thankful he was that friends and family offered their support. Jerry was able to recover.  

Over the last year, Jerry has been training to run a marathon to raise money for cancer research. This marathon recently took place in the Scotland.

We heard back from Jerry upon his arrival back in Panama. He told us the marathon was a huge success! The Canadian team (whom Jerry ran with) raised over $250,000. $1700 of this money came from Jerry’s fundraising event, which was held at Paraiso last month.

Jerry told us the Marathon was challenging. He said he was pushed forward by strong winds, cool weather and rain. But the weather did not slow him down; it motivated him, much like his wife Marj and the many people he was running for. Jerry bested his time by almost a half an hour.

Congratulations Jerry!

Read more of Jerry's story here.