News : Boston: Another stop on painful journey for Vinton native Jody Wood Nelson

Jody Wood Nelson and her mom, Judy, in August of 2012.

Jody Wood Nelson has been running in marathons for three years.

Jody on the race course.

Jody Wood Nelson with parents, Joe and Judy, after a race in Minn.; she ran in Boston on Monday.

Vinton native Jody Wood Nelson, a 1982 Washington High School graduate, ran in the Boston Marathon, and was physically unhurt by the two bombs that killed three and injured more than 100 others an hour after she received her medal.

Yet for Jody, the daughter of Joe and the late Judy Wood of Vinton, the bombing was the latest in a series of painful experiences that have accompanied her on seemingly every step of her three-year journey as a marathon runner.

Jody, who buried her mother last October, and whose father is now fighting cancer, said sharing her experience with Vinton Today readers is "therapeutic."

"I ran my first marathon in the fall of 2011," says Jody. "It was my "hometown" marathon -- the Twin Cities Marathon."

Joe and Judy, as well as Jody's sister, Julie Schmidt, traveled from Iowa to Minnesota be a part of Jody's first "cheer team."

After she completed the Twin Cities Marathon, Jody began looking forward to the more famous marathons out east.

"I had the dream of qualifying for the prestigious Boston Marathon, but kept that secret to myself," Jody recalls. "I did indeed qualify for my dream and was overwhelmed with emotion to be able to share that moment with those close to my heart."

Although she says her focus was on Boston, Jody decided to run The New York Marathon in November 2012 as part of her training program.

"Well, we know how that ended," said Jody, referring to how that race was cancelled in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy.

The "personally heart-wrenching part" of not running the NYC Marathon, says Jody, was losing her mom to breast cancer in October of that year while training.

"I spent two weeks in Vinton caring for my mom before her passing and running was my salvation," Jody recalls. "I really wanted to run that marathon for my mom....for me...for our relationship. Not to take away from the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. I shed tears for all that seemed to be wrong in the world -- in my world."

But, says Jody, "Life goes on."

"It has peaks and valleys, highs and lows...just like the marathon itself," she says.

Then, in early December, the Wood family found out that Joe had lymphoma.

"I did not think my heart could ache any more, but it did," recalls Jody. "My family was not through mourning our mom and now we had a new journey to endure."

Still, says Jody, she kept looking for salvation while wearing her running shoes.

"I continued pounding my feet on the pavement -- through the rain, sleet and snow," Jody recalled. "Once again finding my saving grace through running."

While she ran alone, the memories of her mom and thoughts about her father kept themselves very close.

"I often thought of my mom and my dad while running. They were always supportive and proud of my running even when I was in junior high school. I would continue to make them both proud while running as a 48-year-old woman in The Boston Marathon."

On to Boston

Despite his illness, Joe decided he was well enough to make the trip to Massachusetts, along with Jody and her boyfriend, Neil.

"I was thrilled! Our trip was perfect," says Jody. "The people of Boston were warm and welcoming. The community loves the marathon, the marathoners and their supporters."

The trip was "the experience of a life time," Jody recalls.

"Dad was feeling great. I was feeling great. I could not wait to finally participate in my 'secret' dream. I had so many supporters back home in Iowa as well as locally. This was turning into something more wonderful than I ever could have imagined," she said.

Race Day

Finally, says Jody: "Monday, April 15, 2013, had finally arrived. It was amazing. The weather was perfect for running a marathon. The sun was shining, it would be a great day! My dad and my boyfriend, Neil, escorted me to the bus that morning. We were all smiles -- happy and joking along the walk, taking pictures, offering hugs and words of love and encouragement. There were thousands of other runners and their supporters joining us on this path. The energy and spirit of the Boston Marathon was in the air. It was wonderful!"

Jody says she ran the race of her life that day.

"I thought about my mom, I thought about my dad, I thought about the journey I have walked (or should I say have run) this past year... I was part of something historical just by running this marathon."

As Jody approached the finish line, she could hear Joe yelling her name.

"I looked and there was my cheer team. They saw me ... and I them ... amid the thousands of runners and spectators we found each other. It was the energy I needed for the last .2 miles. "After the sea of handing our medals and picking up bags I reunited with my loved ones."

'Thunderous boom'

It seemed like the euphoria would last all the way back to the Midwest.

But then came the explosions.

Approximately an hour after she crossed the finish line, Jody and her cheer team were heading back to the hotel.

"Then we heard a thunderous boom," says Jody. "I looked at the sky thinking there must be a storm coming our way. But there was not a dark cloud in the sky. Then suddenly there was another thunderous boom and the men in our group said, 'That was an explosion.'"

At first, Jody says, she couldn't -- or wouldn't -- believe it.

"I thought they must be shooting cannons for "Patriots Day," she recalls. "Things were calm on the final steps to our hotel. We then heard sirens, but that is not unusual for a big city."

Then when the group arrived at the hotel, they discovered what had happened.

"Sadness followed. We were in shock...disbelief," says Jody. "I cried for those injured...for those who had lost their lives."

Immediately, she began to feel the emotional impact.

"How could this happen to such a positive, uplifting, amazing event?" Jody asks. "Moments ago we had all been on Cloud Nine. We had come so far -- not only physically but more importantly, emotionally. Once again life had changed, suddenly, for the worst."

Yet, says Jody, life goes on and the journey, both on and off the race course, continues.

"Ultimately, we all just have to maintain through the ups and downs of life," she says. "Just like in the marathon, we just keep putting one foot in front of the other and taking it one moment at a time. Our time in Boston is a testimony for all of us on the importance of health, relationships, happiness, life and death."

Jody is currently a Forensic Scientist (toxicologist) with the Minnesota Bureau of Apprehension, where she has been for 14 years. After graduating from Vinton, she earned her Bachelor's in Biology from Methodist College in Fayetteville, N.C.

And, she says, "I miss Mom everyday."