The day Cindy suffered her aneurysm happened to be my birthday. I was expecting a call from my husband about going out to dinner and ended up receiving a much more devastating phone call. Cindy, who happened to be the healthiest person any of us knew, had been training for her first Iron Man. She was a personal trainer, celebrity trainer, nutrition guru - her passion was health and wellness. She would come up to stay at our parents in Guilford and take these insanely long bike rides and be running all over the place - I never understood how she could do that...let alone enjoy it. I remember sitting in the living room with her and asking if she thought I was capable of running a marathon. She said "of course" I was. It was pretty comical really, I was completely unhealthy, smoked a ton and had not run since high school... but it stuck in my head. Not long after that day we were at Jeff's wedding, having a blast. Cindy, as usual, looked stunning and was funny and endearing and just generally awesome to be around. Two days later Cindy went out for her morning training ride and suffered the aneurysm on her bike. Obviously it was a terrible, terrible time. It was in the hospital waiting room that The Cindy Lynn Sherwin Memorial Foundation was established to memorialize Cindy.
What happened after, for me at least (I won't speak for anyone else), was really a huge change in perspective on life. For the first time, probably ever in my life, I really cared about being healthy and did not feel invincible ... that change in perspective is my connection to Cindy. That fall a bunch of family and friends ran The New York City Marathon in her honor and since then multiple events, teams, memorializing projects and donations made to organizations supporting her mission have ensued. What continues to amaze me is how someone can die and be gone, but the impact that they can have after they die is so much larger than when they were alive. I know that Cindy's death and influence has directly or indirectly changed the lives and goals of people that she has known and people she would never even meet. That being said, I am attempting my first hundred mile race in honor of Cindy. It seems to fit. 100 miles is going to hurt, probably a lot more than I can comprehend even through my training, but its just hurt and I'm grateful to be alive and to have two legs that I can run with. This race and Cindy's death are going to provide a group of children with a safe and beautiful place to be healthy and to play. This will be the 2nd Cindy Lynn Sherwin Memorial Playground - with the first having been built in Brooklyn. I'm sure she would be so proud to have touched so many lives.
We will be hosting an Irish Night Fundraiser on 3/8/15 from 3-6 pm at The Stone House Restaurant in Guilford, CT. Food, drinks, irish music & dance and a silent auction. Tickets are $75 per person. To reserve your tickets, click here
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