Erik Gray Challenge at Southview Trails

Amy Gale Giddings is an amazing wife, mother and grandmother to two wonderful children, 4 very energetic grandsons and 1 sassy granddaughter. She loves to spend her summers camping, four wheeling, and hiking with her large extended family. Amy loves her job where she is able to work with special needs kids. Everyone who meets her finds joy in her presence. 

In 2016, Amy Gale Giddings was diagnosed with Breast Cancer. They found cancer cells in her right breast and in the lymph nodes of her right arm. At that time she chose to have a double mastectomy and to have the lymph nodes in her right arm removed. Ever since then she was doing cancer treatment to hopefully have her stay cancer free. 

In March of 2021, Amy started to have pain in her back and paralisys. We all thought it was just a torn muscle or maybe a slipped disc. She was able to receive an MRI and they found a tumor wrapped around her spinal cord and the next day they did emergency surgery to remove the tumor. When they tested it, they found that her cancer had returned. Shortly after, in her next PET scan they found the cancer had spread to her right hip. The doctors had her continue the chemo treatment while having her undergo radiation treatment to kill off what remained in her hip and spine. 

Once her doctors cleared her for exercise she picked right back up with her active lifestyle. She exercises daily with her daughter and grandson to keep herself strong. Recently she was able to run farther than she has been able to in the past 2 years. 

Amy has had PET scans every 3 months over the past 2 years. In January and March of 2023 the scans came back clean and and we were hopeful that would continue. In her most recent PET scan they found the cancer had spread futher and is now in her left arm lymph nodes. Amy remains as strong and as positive as ever and is continuing to live her life with joy and great strength.

If you can’t make it to the race, there is a virtual 5k and virtual 1 mile option! Run your race anywhere and anytime on between October 12-14th! Post it on social media or send a picture to our email theerikgraychallenge@gmail.com.

register for the virtual race by Sept 20th to be guaranteed a shirt in your size. Registration deadline is Oct 5th at 11:59.  

We have a Venmo set up here. Donations welcome this way! You can also buy shirts for $15 a piece or register in person or donate through here. When you venmo, send your size. If you want it shipped to you add $8 for whole shipping order. (E.g. 2 shirts- $15+$15+$8=$38) pm us your address

 

Together as the Gray family, we decided to put on this race in honor of our family member Erik who passed away in February of 2017 at the age of 23 after a 7 year battle with cancer. Erik was optimistic, upbeat, and inspiration to all. He lived his life to the fullest every day and went out of his way to help others even as he was going through hard things himself. We decided to create this race to carry on his legacy of helping others. Each year we pick local families battling cancer to raise money for! We wanted to give back to the community that gave us so much in our time of need! Thank you for your support and we look forward to our race this year!!

 

Southview Trailhead

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