Purple and White is a tradition with any alum and/or friend of Texas Christian University.

While I will summon Horned Frog pride on Friday, there will be a larger cause behind my purple, awareness for Pancreatic Cancer.

Nancy Murphy Bowles is a tireless advocate for raising awareness and funds for research to beat this killer.  Her brother Dino, whom I’ve only met in spirit, was a victim of the cancer.  But his spirit and memory is a survivor, serving as an encouragement to all who hear his story.

Nancy recently shared their story on the One Medal website.

The marathon season she recalls in her story is still fresh in my mind.

There is a lot of truth in the adage “you run 444 miles to train your body for a marathon so your mind can handle 26.2 miles.”  However that season a group of us were training for the 2011 Los Angeles Marathon it was clear the mind, body and soul were getting trained the entire time.

On race day, singer and songwriter Albert Hammond’s one hit wonder never hit closer to home:

Seems it never rains in southern California
Seems I’ve often heard that kind of talk before
It never rains in California, but girl, don’t they warn ya?
It pours, man, it pours

Nancy and I paced each other most of the way as our running mob wound from Dodgers Stadium through downtown, the cultural district, along the Hollywood Walk of Fame and then down Santa Monica Boulevard for the beach.  It was not a beach day.

For the most part we were in eyesight of each other and swapped lead throughout the marathon.  However, I did lose track of her when we hit Rodeo Drive, maybe it was some power shopping?

But in the midst of running in ankle deep water, seeing a bearded surfer dude running in a bathing suit (no shoes) and being cleansed throughout the race in a torrential downpour I never saw Nancy, in her purple tutu, flinch.

That same determination carried through the finish line and is still a major part of who she is today.

So when I wear purple this Friday, I will be quieter about my Frogs and louder about raising awareness as an encouragement to those lives impacted by Pancreatic Cancer.