Caneilia Patterson has quite the unusal name, and she knows you're wondering "where did that come from". So glad you asked...it was taken from the Cherokee Indian Midwife that delivered her paternal grandmother in a covered wagon in Oklahoma City in the early 1900's. Her grandmother's middle name was Caneilia and the name was passed down.
In 2009, Caneilia was a 55 lb overweight couch potato and ready for a change. She shed 30 lbs and became a Triathlete in a matter 3 months and has been hooked ever since. In that first year, she also completed her first 1/2 Marathon. From the couch to triathlons and 1/2 marathons in 7 months! In 2010 she evolved into coaching other women to take control of their lives and health and lead 24 new women to their first triathlon of April 2010; thus starting her coaching career and bringing her to the place that God has intended her to be to help others. Caneilia now coaches triathletes and runners to complete 5K's and 1/2 Marathons. Caneilia's number one goal has been to become healthier. Since 2009 she has lowered her total cholesterol, blood pressure, blood sugar, and body fat percentage. One thing she also hopes to have on that health list is being successful in preventing cancer, which she knows the major role that health and body fat play in the cancer factor.
In Caneilia's "spare time" she worked 10 years as a contractor for NASA on projects such as International Space Station and Ares Rocket. She was recently employed by Qinetiq North America in August 2010 where she now works as a systems engineer. Caneilia and her husband, Chris, live in Madison, AL with their 2 dogs, Abby and Sandy.
So why a cancer fundrasier for Caneilia? Caneilia has been an avid support of Breast Cancer Research her whole adult life, giving a little each time the opporunity presents itself. She has seen numerous friends and several family members with cancer...it is such a horrible disease. Her maternal grandmother spent her younger years in the farm fields and the importance of sunscreen was not known. As her grandmother became older, she battled numerous melamona skin cancers from those years in the field. Thank goodness her grandmother could catch the spots before they ever took over her body and luckily she did not pass away from cancer. Caneilia vividly remembers her grandmother saying "wear sunscreen" and has pictures of her in her wide-brim hat when she'd go outside to tend to her flowers. She learned what caused the skin cancer, did what she could to prevent future cancer from forming, and did her part to educate others, including her grandchildren. Caneilia has spent years herself in the sun and tanning bed. She quit the tanning bed after 10 straight years of sunning and tanning at the age of 23 because of her grandmother's experiences with skin cancer and the likely risk Caneilia was putting herself in.
So it was no surprised when asked "do you want to do this crazy challenge of Hood to Coast with us" that she thought for about a second, maybe 2 seconds, and quickly committed to fundraise for cancer in memory of her grandmother, Estelle Everett, and train for a very challenging race. She believes that our entire country can only benefit from helping organizations such as the American Cancer Society reach their goals in prevention programs and cancer cures but that takes the help of the community, so Caneilia is committed!
The picture (above) of Caneilia (in red) and her long-time friend and triathlete buddy, Christy Cantey was taken at the
Frantic Frog Triathlon in September 2010. Christy has been one of Caneilia's biggest fans and sources of support and motivation...she was there for Caneilia's first race, from start to finish and 7 months pregnant!
Lisa Hall has been running since August 2009, and has completed two half-marathons and a full marathon. She is currently training for her second marathon. Lisa is very passionate about healthy living after reclaiming her life following a decade-long disability. Her story appears in the December 2010 issue of Runner’s World magazine.
