beautybody&spirit
F.I.T. AGAIN: RUNNING FOR A REASON With a commitment to get fit 10 years ago, a group of women decided they would train for and run in the Walt Disney World Half Marathon. They worked hard and all say one person made it possible for them to get to the finish line — their volunteer trainer David Cassidy, who was an athletic trainer and sports medicine marketing manger with AdventHealth Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation.
O
ver the past decade some of the women have continued with half marathons while others have been more casual runners, but
a sudden loss — David Cassidy’s 2019 suicide — brought them back together and they jumped into training mode. They will once again take on the Walt Disney World Half Marathon, on January 11, to bring awareness to mental health issues. “Ten years ago, AdventHealth — Florida Hospital back then — was talking about doing something to get people healthier. So, I took that challenge and I actually reached out to people I knew in the business community as well my kids’ school and other places,” Samantha (Sam) O’Lenick explains. “Actually 30 ladies came and joined us. Dave Cassidy was our coach and was quite an inspiration to all of us. We had been flirting with the idea of getting back together again and then tragically, Dave took his own life. That got us jazzed and ready to go. We are going to raise awareness for Dave and mental health. Each and every one of us struggles with it and if we can eliminate the stigma, that’s what we want to do.” The F.I.T. (females in training) 2020 team includes: Leah Shepherd, Samantha O’Lenick, Sara Brady, Wendy Sullivan, Alison Appelbaum Polejes, Kari Conley, Pam Saffran and Dr. Aileen Field. And although the group is smaller than the original one, it is no less enthusiastic and motivated.
F.I.T. team photographed at Track Shack. Top: Sara Brady, Sam O’Lenick, Wendy Sullivan, Ali Polejes and Betsy Hughes; bottom: Kari Conley, Pam Saffran and Leah Shepherd. Not pictured: Dr. Aileen Field 36
orangeappeal.com
“I think the gift that I got from this was the connection with these women and
