Runner comes full circle after loss

Tommy Owens is going to Seattle this summer —- not especially noteworthy for a man who has traveled from his Sandy Springs home throughout the world. Indeed, he’s been to Seattle before, 20 years ago, and because of that trip he never went back.

In 1988 his oldest daughter, Leslie, had graduated from the UGA. She was smart and young and eager to start the next chapter in life. But her story took a detour in October when Leslie was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

A course of chemo brought a short-lived remission, but it didn’t last. In February 1989 she headed to Seattle with her parents for a bone marrow transplant. With successful, but toxic, treatment protocols and a successful bone marrow outcome, Leslie was given a 4 percent chance to live. Tommy was the best donor match, and the procedure was performed.

A few days after donating his marrow he went for a run —- he’d been running since his early 30s —- and then went to the hospital. He knelt to pray by the bed where Leslie’s body had become a toxic battleground against a monster.

When he stood, she opened her eyes and said: “Daddy, I’m not going to make it.” And that was it.

Without fanfare the battle was lost. On Feb. 17, 1989, life support was shut off. Leslie was gone. And now that was Seattle.

Jump to 1992. Because of his running stature in Atlanta, and because of Leslie, the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society talked to him about bringing Team in Training to Georgia. TNT helps people, regardless of athletic background, take on the challenge of running a marathon or half-marathon to raise money to fight leukemia, lymphoma and other blood cancers.

There have since been few Saturday mornings when Tommy is not wearing his purple Team in Training shirt and hanging out with runners of all shapes, sizes and speeds. He is equal parts coach, guru, drill sergeant and cheerleader. He helps make great runners better and helps back-of-the-pack runners, like me, achieve the dream of completing an endurance event.

Those of us who benefit from Tommy’s wisdom and experience know that we have that privilege because of Leslie. He paid a parent’s dearest price, and then invested his grief in going after the monster that is leukemia one runner at a time.

One of Tommy’s TNT groups will be running in the inaugural Seattle Marathon on June 27. It will be his first trip back. He and his other daughter, Gretchen, will run to honor Leslie’s memory.

I hope this time when the plane leaves Seattle there will have been some healing. I hope, as Gretchen says, they will have come full circle. I hope Tommy knows that those of us who have gained from his loss appreciate his courage. And I hope he knows how much we love Leslie’s dad.

> Jim Osterman has lived in Sandy Springs since 1962.