Chloe Mansour comes from a family of runners. Her father was a runner and she began running with him so that she could join him on his adventures. When she was in middle school, she joined the school running club. She enjoyed running with her peers, but her truly passion for running came from spending time with her family members. When Chloe was 12, she started running with her Grandfather, Lee T. Hanley. Chloe recalls, “We started running together when I was in sixth grade. Every time I saw him, we ran together. I could barely keep up with him!” Though Chloe eventually became a competitive tennis player in high school, running always held a special place in her heart. Running brought her closer to the people she loved. Now Chloe is bringing meaning to her miles by running to honor one of those special family members who was instrumental in helping her to develop her love for the sport. This November, Chloe will be running the New York City Marathon to honor her grandfather, who she lost to Pancreatic Cancer.
Lee T. Hanley attended the University of Arizona and served as an officer in the Marine Corps during the Vietnam War. After completing his military service, he began a career in real estate. Eventually, Lee moved into commercial property development. Lee became the CEO of Vestar Development, one of the largest commercial development companies in the United States. In addition to his successful career in real estate development, Lee was also a philanthropist and served on a number of charitable boards. Chloe remembers her grandfather fondly, “He was one of the greatest people I have ever known. He was incredibly talented but also very humble. He always put his family first, even though he was very successful professionally. He was very passionate about everything he was involved in.”
Chloe was a junior in High School when her grandfather was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer. Unfortunately his cancer was already Stage IV at the time of diagnosis. Chloe remembers that the cancer and the chemotherapy treatments made her grandfather quite ill. She watched as he lost so much weight that he seemed to wither away before her eyes. Despite his illness, Lee remained patient and optimistic in his battle. Chloe says, “He was always trying to put on a happy face, but I could tell it was taking a toll on him. He was always bright, energetic, athletic and incredibly strong.”
Lee battled Pancreatic Cancer for 14 months before passing away the summer before her senior year. Lee left behind his wife, Nancy, who he was married to for 48 years, his three children, and a large extended family.
Chloe is currently going into her junior year at Boston College.
Though she has a very busy and full life, she decided that she wanted to run a marathon. Some of her friends had run the New York City Marathon last year and that planted the seed in Chloe’s head. She knew that it was very difficult to get into the New York City Marathon, so she began looking at the race’s charity partners. If she was going to run for a charity, she knew that she wanted to run for a Pancreatic Cancer charity. When she found Project Purple, she sent in an application to run with the team. Chloe was accepted onto the team, and she knew that she had found the right charity partner to support.
Chloe is looking forward to running both to challenge herself and also to honor her grandfather. She specially wanted to run the New York City Marathon because the city has special meaning to her. She first visited New York City with her grandparents at the age of 12. She fell in love with the city back then, when she shared the experience with Lee and Nancy. Now she looks forward to honoring Lee in the city that he first brought her to years ago.
Chloe is pleased to be running as part of a charity team. She explains, “If I was not running for a charity, I could easily lose motivation to train. It is very powerful and encouraging to belong to a team. I know that I have to stick to a plan and when I need encouragement, I think of how I am doing it for my grandfather. That motivates me to run and fundraise!”
Chloe derives personal satisfaction from running at this juncture of her life. Being a college student keeps her very busy. She says, “Running is when I have ‘me’ time. It is a nice relief from stress. I take an hour or so and get some exercise and stay healthy.” When Chloe runs and races now, she thinks about the grandfather who first fostered her love of running. She looks forward to November when she will get to fulfill a personal goal of hers while working towards helping other families who have been touched by pancreatic cancer.
Please support Chloe’s fundraising efforts by donating at the Crowdrise link below:
https://www.crowdrise.com/projectpurplenyc2015/fundraiser/chloemansour
