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“What mental health needs is more sunlight, more candor and more unashamed conversation.”

– Glenn Close, American Actress

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Donate Blood, Save Lives

Look what showed up in Rachel’s email last week. She had no idea it was one year ago that she started donating blood to get over her fear of needles. Extreme? maybe. Did it work? Pretty well. Now she enjoys donating blood as often as she’s able (every 56 days). To date, she’s donated a gallon and a half.

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Tacoma Run Club

_{Pictured above: The Tacoma Run Club (TRC) is pictured at Point Ruston just prior to their run at the club’s 7 Year Anniversary on Sunday, March 23, 2025.}

Speaking of mental health… Running used to be Rachel’s go to for relief from her anxiety until she was injured in late 2012. When someone tells you how important stretching is for your body, believe them. They aren’t kidding. Stretching really does matter.

To keep a more than decade-long story as short as possible… Yes, lack of stretching ultimately led to her injury. The injury… Rachel’s L5/S1 disc had extruded requiring a fusion (picture the insides of a jelly donut coming all the way out). Major spine surgery. She put if off until 2016 and opted for attempts at conservative treatment. That didn’t go so well. Neither did the surgery. She had gotten rid of her limp and the feeling in her right leg had returned, for the most part. It would be 2019 when one of her eight screws was found to be half broken. Her fusion had failed allowing for movement of the hardware in her spine.

That discovery came in late 2019 and then 2020 happened making elective surgeries a no go. It would be June 2022 before she would go in for a revision fusion. The four screws that had been placed in her spine from her abdomen were left as is but the four screws in her posterior side were removed and replaced with larger screws and a graft from her own spine. Well, three and half of those screws were removed. Half of a screw still remains in her spine to date (Issue 159 has a bit more, and x-rays). Luckily, her second surgeon was a rock star, and her fusion took this time.

Her first spine surgeon had told her she would never run again. He told her to find something else to love. He clearly hadn’t ever been a runner. The loss of running impacted Rachel more than she can describe. Life as she knew it halted and pain, despair, frustration and loss of interest in everything set in. Walking and yoga would be it as far as exercise. She did try to run a couple of times, but the pain was too significant. As for the second surgeon…both he and her physical therapist assured her she could run again. And run, she did. According to Rachel, it isn’t easy due to chronic pain and nerve issues related to the injury and surgeries, but each day that she can run is a gift.

Now, let’s get to the meat of things… the Tacoma Run Club.

_{Pictured above: The Tacoma Run Club begins to gather at Anthem Coffee in Point Ruston to socialize before the Sunday run on March 23, 2025.}

As the story goes… one day back in 2018, Ejay O’Donnell and Jared Michael (brothers-in-law) were chatting about life and whatnot. They were in a “weird spot in life.” According to Ejay, “We knew breakthroughs were on the other side of the work we didn’t want to do.” When Jared asked Ejay if he wanted to go for a run, Ejay said, “Not at all!” Guess what they did? They met up on a Sunday morning at a blue trash can in the Point Ruston area and took a run. It’s safe to say that was one life-changing Sunday.

Little did they know that they would inspire so many people and that they would still be meeting every Sunday morning in Point Ruston for a run seven years later. The Tacoma Run Club now meets at Anthem Coffee in Point Ruston, which made its debut in Point Ruston later that same year.

Anthem Coffee in Point Ruston is run by co-owner Bryan Reynolds. Reynolds hosts the run club each Sunday and provides a safe space for the runners to meet up before and hang out after to enjoy a warm beverage and snack. When asked about hosting the run club, Reynolds said, “It’s an absolute pleasure hosting the Tacoma Run Club every week.” He said far more than that, but you will have to visit Tacoma Run Club on Instagram to hear the full interview. One thing is certain, his enthusiasm about the run club is infectious. What a great collaboration.

_{Pictured above: On the left, Jon interviews Bryan at the 7-year celebration. On the right, Bryan may not be a runner, but he got out there on a scooter and joined the runners on the course to provide encouragement.}

It should be noted that all photography in this article, with the exception of one photo, was provided courtesy of the TRC’s Instagram page. That one photo, which will be captioned accordingly, was taken by a fellow runner. You’ll see that one later.

When Rachel’s friend Jennie sent her a picture of a flyer for a Sunday run, she didn’t look at it very closely, she just said yes. Little did she know this was the Tacoma Run Club that Bill and Alanna had been talking about for months. Sometimes she really is in her own world. She was thrilled to learn this was the weekly run club and can’t believe she hasn’t been joining them on Sundays prior to this event.

Just below is club’s co-founder, Ejay. With this being the 7th year for the club, speeches were in order. There was appreciation expressed for the sponsors (see flyer above) and attendees. Ejay explained to any newcomers that this was their run, their distance, their pace. He provided turnaround points for specific distances and talked about the ‘Manny Mile.’

The Manny Mile was named for a late member of the club who lost his life to suicide on March 7, 2025, Jemanuel Concepcion, aged 31 (aka Manny). Ejay explained that Manny always ran one mile out and one mile back each time he ran with the club. He said that naming it the Manny Mile was a way to keep Manny’s spirit with the club.

_{Pictured above: The week after the 7-year anniversary of the club, memorial bracelets were given out to members in attendance for the March 30th run. The 988 lifeline was also mentioned to the group. Rachel thought it only appropriate to include this in the story about the anniversary. While she never met Manny, she can empathize with those who did.}

Rachel asked a friend more about Manny and learned that he was a vibrant man. The friend said, “Manny always seemed so happy.” It really does show you that you never know what another person might be going through and a good reminder to be kind to everyone you encounter.

Speaking of being kind… below is another interview by Jon, this time with other co-founder, Jared. Jared had so many kind things to say of the sponsors and people that join in for the runs on Sundays. One comment that stuck out was when he stated that this run club isn’t his, he said, “It’s an honor and blessing to have so many people come out and support the thing that is theirs.” “This is not our run club, it’s the communities run club,” he concluded.

If you are a person that has Instagram, you should check out their page. The link below is to one of their reels (a short video) that was posted after the event. The content that was gathered by the photographers, the drone operator, and everyone that contributed their photos was put into an outstanding collection. If you want to view the link and don’t have an Instagram account, never fear, you can still take a look. Simply click on the link. You will see a box pop up with Jared’s account info that says sign up for log in… Just hit the X at the top right to close that window. The video will begin playing. You will want to turn the sound on. It’s a touching compilation and the songs gives it just the right vibe.

^{https://www.instagram.com/share/BAbu1xGyzE}

Hey, look… runners.

_{Pictured above: The runners take off and descend to the Point Ruston Waterfront.}

_{Pictured above: Runners along the course enjoying the rainy Pacific Northwest morning.}

_{Pictured above: More runners. Wait, we know those people. On the left in the light blue is Rachel, to her right is Jenny, Alanna and Gracie.}

How about a couple of post run fun photos? These were grabbed from the TRC Instagram account.

_{Pictured above (Lt to Rt): Rachel, Gracie, Bill, Jennie, Alanna and Logan pose after the run for a friends photo, courtesy of a fellow runner. Thank you, fellow runner.}

In closing, what an event, what a club, what a day. Rachel will most certainly have a new Sunday routine going forward. Thank you, Tacoma Run Club!

If you’ve made it this far, thank you for reading this week’s My Monday Memo. Rachel hopes you enjoyed your journey. Until next time, be well.

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