LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — It was bright and early on Saturday morning, when Kathleen Sullivan started getting ready for the 5K at the 20th annual Little Rock Marathon.
"We're strong. We say in my family, we're ranger strong," she said. "We got this."
Sullivan, as many do, is running for a cause that's close to her heart. Sullivan's motivation? Her late father.
"There is no cure, limited treatments. Four people in my family have NF1, and some day I want a cure," she said.
NF stands for neurofibromatosis. It's a genetic disorder that causes tumors to grow on nerves.
Finding a cure is a goal that Sullivan's been working towards for decades alongside the Children's Tumor Foundation, who have the same goal.
Sullivan is running with a group that are all in support of that goal, but that group is also supporting her as well.
"This is not a day of sadness for us. This is our day for celebrating my dad," she said.
James "Pops" Ranger always had a lot on his bucket list.
Skydiving at 70? He did just that.
But, what about the last thing he wanted to do?
"I was up in Jonesboro visiting him and he reached across and he patted his leg and pointed his big ol' fat finger at me and said... 'Katie, I want to walk a marathon with you.' I looked at him and said... 'you're crazy,'" Sullivan said.
With Pops still getting older, they settled on something that would be easier – the 5K.
Unfortunately, it never got to happen.
"On October 4th, 2021 my father passed away due to complications from COVID. My heart broke because I lost my father, but also because I lost the dream of the one thing we were going to do together," Sullivan said.
Things haven't been easy since that day, but just like Saturday's 5K, it's step by step process until the finish line.
"You get to that next step. It's just getting to that next step until you get your joy," she said.
Sullivan and her group walked their own pace, having fun along the way and finishing at their own pace, all while crossing off the last thing on Pops' bucket list.
"Dad did the race with us. We didn't just carry him, we carried him [his ashes] and my dad would've been tickled. He would've loved that," she said.
It's not exactly the ending that Sullivan would have wanted, but that's ok.
She said being happy in this moment is what Pops would have wanted.
"I can't change outcomes, but I can change my attitude. You don't get to choose circumstances, but you do get to choose today. Today I choose joy," Sullivan said.