The OneAmerica 500 Festival Mini-Marathon has a long history of bringing runners, walkers, volunteers, and families together from all over the world. It is a time when people focus less on issues that may be at the forefront of their minds and connect with thousands of people to run 13.1 miles and celebrate the Month of May in Indianapolis. It’s when countless hours of training, preparation, and excitement all lead up to that moment when one finally crosses that coveted finish line. When Grant County native, Emily McIntire, decided she would start hiking a few national parks with friends, she never knew how it would start a life-long passion for fitness, running, and eventually help save someone’s life.
Being Hoosier-born, Emily McIntire has recently found a new love 500 Festival and all the festivities that encompass May, but it was in 2020 when she registered for the Mini for the first time. McIntire shared, “I helped in 2019 by watching gear for some friends who were running. Even though that year was miserably cold and rainy, it looked like so much fun and there was such great energy everywhere.”
Soon after, she began running and quickly became a fan. “I used to see runners and think ‘that could never be me,’” she said. “In 2018 I started working with a personal trainer so I could go out to Utah. I hiked all five National Parks and pushed myself farther than I ever had before. I started thinking that it was time to get serious about being healthy.” Emily also said that she loves a challenge- in April 2019 she signed-up for the “Couch to 5K” app has been hooked since.
Besides spending her free time running, walking, and training with friends and family, Emily is a full-time registered nurse here in Indiana. Early in life, she was set on going into journalism, but after a few anatomy classes in high school, her future changed forever. Emily says, “Nursing for me is a perfect blend of logic/science with the art of making a connection with your patients.” In addition to choosing a heroic and much needed profession, Emily recently became a hero in another way: she recently became a kidney donor.
“I don’t have kids or siblings, so I didn’t worry that anyone else might need it. For me, the workup included lots of blood work (14 vials at a time!), EKG, CT scan, chest X-ray, and 24-hour urine collection. My surgery was laparoscopic-assisted, so I had three tiny incisions for ports and one bigger horizontal one, low on my abdomen.” For Emily, the decision was easy, but she now wants to help encourage others to consider being donors through a process called paired donations. “This is one of the things I want people to know about the most,” she mentioned, “If you want to donate to someone but your blood type is incompatible (or for any other reason), but you are approved as a donor, you can still help your person!”
She even told us, “If you want to donate but aren’t a match, there is a whole pool of people in the same boat. When you step up to donate, your team can look at this group and find someone for you to give to, and someone to give to your recipient.”
Emily is looking forward to this May and many others to follow. When asked if she has any advice for those looking to get into running and fitness she said, “Honestly if I can do it, anyone can. I was never athletic in school. I never thought I could do it. I had to learn that races are about competing with yourself, not everyone else. I still struggle with that sometimes! But, if you run even a little bit, you’re a runner in my book!”
As most of us are counting down the few weeks left until the days of warmer weather, racing, and getting back to missed Indianapolis traditions, it’s stories like Emily McIntire’s that remind us that these 500 Festival events touch everyone’s lives in different ways.
If you would like more information on how to become a donor, go to https://www.kidney.org/transplantation/livingdonors/incompatiblebloodtype for more ideas on how you can help.
To join Emily for the 2022 Indy Mini, register at indymini.com/register!