by: Calvin Li May 19, 2019
“I have not written much since writing sports articles in college while attending Valparaiso University. Since I participated in an event on May 19, writing should come naturally but not now, maybe not ever in this case. I first met Kevin in summer school going into my freshman year of high school, but we did not talk much since we only talked briefly since our classes were next to each other. During freshman year, we had a geometry class together but also did not talk much until sophomore year in our world history class. He became a brother to me and we could always tell each other things. I could go on about my favorite memories with him but that would have to be another blog. When it came to college, I moved for college and he eventually went to Madagascar to serve his mission. I never felt distance was ever a factor in keeping in contact and we would talk whenever possible. In 2015, my mom unfortunately passed away from a 9 year battle with cancer and Kevin was the first person to reach out to me to offer support. It was not until last year that I learned of how many people he really helped in whatever way he can. Since then I have tried to live my life in the way he would and help those who are in need. During late nights here in Beijing, I noticed that some homeless people sleep in McDonald’s since they are open 24 hours and that was their only place for shelter. I noticed the same man during my few visits late at night and would buy him meals if I am in at the same time he was.
A year ago, I was unemployed in Boston and while at the unemployment office seeking interview coaching, I saw on Facebook that my best friend from high school had passed away. I attended his service days later in Utah and learned of how many other lives he had impacted through his presence.
Fast forward a year and I found myself on the other side of the world, in Beijing. I had never participated in any runs before and decided to sign up for a 6K on the Great Wall about a couple weeks ago, which fell a year from the day Kevin passed away. I decided then and there that I had to do it and run the Great Wall in his memory. Kevin would have said to me that I was the craziest person in the world for wanting to run up the Great Wall, and I do not know how marathon runners do it on the Great Wall, since it really is a monster. I also did not get enough training for the event. I had to sign up and do it because in high school he would say that he and I made up the Great Wall, and the event fell on the same weekend that he passed. I have been looking for races to run for a while and felt that my first race had to be special.
Before the race, I thought about how I could really dedicate the entire race to Kevin. I packed a brand new pair of running shoes that I felt should be decorated, and my coworker agreed to help me draw designs on the shoes while I write around the shoes. One weekend I was out and saw a running shirt that was in the same shade of blue as our high school, and blue was his favorite color so I had to get it. I ran a few ideas by his sister Jennifer who really helped with the picture designs and then gave the designs to my coworker to draw. On the shoes, we included some Pokemon, since Kevin loved Pokemon, our high school logo, and the Gunbound logo, which was a game Kevin and I spent countless hours playing all night in high school. Once the drawings were completed, I looked up different hashtags related to mental health awareness and suicide prevention to include on the shoes as well as other messages I had. Once I got the shoes back, I was stuck at how to start and where to start writing. Before his service last year, two of his missionary companions who served with him in Madagascar had messaged me asking about his service information, so I messaged them asking about things that he would say in Malagsy as well as translations to include on the shoes. Once the shoes were completed, I gave a sneak preview to Kevin’s family as well as the two missionaries who served with him since they helped also. Explanations for the designs will be at the bottom of this blog.
On the week before the race, I ran a couple of days, once around a track for about 3 kilometers including up and down bleachers since I was about to run on a hill, and the second day running 6 kilometers from my apartment to my office. I would have ran days after but my knee and back were aching and I had to get some over the counter medications to help ease the pain. One of the biggest challenges was that I sprained an ankle months before and almost sprained the other ankle shortly after, and was also sick for almost a month which made staying in decent shape difficult.
The night before the race, I felt restless and could not sleep. I took the day off work and woke up at 6 am to get on the bus to the Great Wall. As my usual tradition before participating in any athletic event, I must eat an ice cream, so before getting on the bus, I went for my ice cream (yes at 6 am) and then got into the subway to meet my bus. When I got to the waiting area, I was really nervous and wondering what I had gotten myself into. Halfway into the race, I felt like I could not make it but kept pushing since this was a team effort, from the shoes to the support, to the run. On the way off the wall, I lost my footing on the steps since many of the steps are uneven but caught the railing before a serious injury could happen. It was very windy during the race, which made things a bit scarier. It was so windy I thought my hair tie was going to fly off and I really hate losing hair ties and I do mean it (don’t ask why)… As I crossed the finish line and received the medal, it was an emotional moment since we all did it. I know everyone including Kevin was there in spirit, which really helped me finish.
When I got back, I went out for the most unhealthy post race celebration, which included a giant cup of milk tea, Starbucks, Pizza Hut, and soda. I was sitting on the floor in my room for a couple hours because my legs were exhausted but eventually moved. The next morning, I was ready to see a doctor again since the first ankle sprain happened from running 5K and playing basketball immediately afterwards, but instead my body was so sore from the burnout but no injuries! The craziest part was that I still weighed the same as I did before the race even after all the unhealthy things I was eating, which was really all I could think about before the event.
For those who knew Kevin, they knew that he truly loved people and would go out of his way to make others happy and help them in however he could. He truly set an example of how we should be with others in however we can, which is why many of us are now going to #LiveForKevin.”
