By John H. Palmer

WESTPORT — It’s been said that every runner’s journey begins with that first step forward, and from there, each subsequent step is taken with purpose.

It seems so simple and taken for granted, the biological gift of being able to put one foot in front of another. 

When running the 26.2 miles of a marathon, however, it’s different. Mentally and physically, the constant pounding of foot to pavement takes its toll on the mind and body, begging the runner to stop. 

Needless to say, to succeed in running a marathon requires an incentive and a goal bigger than oneself.

Route to Boston Marathon started in a hospital bed

For Westporter Michelle Backus, her journey as a runner began as a way to alleviate isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

But her goal of completing this year’s Boston Marathon on April 21 began a couple years ago when one of her daughters came home from school with the flu. Illness eventually made its way through the family over the next two weeks.

At 41, Backus considered herself fit and healthy, running an average 35 miles a week and completing the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., about six months earlier. So, she did what every runner does to feel better: She went for a long run with her best friend, a former ER physician.

The friends did their usual 6-mile loop, and afterwards she had breakfast and went to work as a pharmaceutical sales representative. By 3 p.m. that afternoon, however, her health took a major downturn. She felt sick to her stomach, started vomiting violently and shaking, and developed a 104-degree fever. She took Zofran, a medication she had left over from when she was pregnant to control to control nausea, which she vomited. That may have saved her life. 

“I’m here today because my best friend was an ER doctor and knew the signs of sepsis,” she wrote in a personal testimonial. “If I had taken the Zofran and it had worked, I would have stayed home that night in May and most likely died overnight.”

She eventually collapsed onto the bathroom floor. Before that, she had been able to call her friend, who recognized the symptoms of sepsis, a life-threatening condition that can occur when the body’s immune system gets overwhelmed by an infection. She rushed to the house, where she found her husband, Chris, working in his office, and their two daughters watching TV, unaware of what was unfolding upstairs. 

Backus was rushed to Norwalk Hospital for four days of treatment, and prescribed antibiotics for two more weeks. She had been diagnosed with Flu B and pneumococcal pneumonia, which had somehow made its way into her bloodstream while sprinting home during her run to avoid being late for a Zoom call. 

“I was totally incoherent even though everyone I know said I was the healthiest person ever,” she said. “Prioritize your own healthcare. If there are any signs of anything wrong, why not get checked?”

Thankful for another chance to give back

As she’s recovered, Backus has embarked on what she calls her “Comeback Tour,” attacking her running goals with newfound vigor. 

She has a personal goal of “crushing” all six major marathons in the country, and has completed three of them so far, the most recent being the New York Marathon last fall.

For Boston, she plans to raise $50,000 for the Dana-Farber Marathon Cancer Institute, running for a daughter’s friend, diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in 2017 and treated at Boston Children’s Hospital. All of the money she raises will go to support the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research.

“He’s the sweetest, kindest kid ever and we wanted to do something as a family to help,” she said. “We can’t cure it, but we can raise money for research.”

A Greens Farms water stop en route to Boston

In addition to the financial challenge, Backus said that just making it to the starting line of perhaps the most difficult marathon in the country is a challenge in itself.

“I typically run a fall marathon and that means you get to run outside in the summer,” she said. “Training for Boston in April is a whole other ball game because single digit temperatures and darkness has been a real challenge. I’ve always wanted to run and this and it kills two birds with one stone because it’s for a good cause.”

To get ready, she typically does her long run along coastal routes in the Greens Farms neighborhood where she grew up, finding inspiration in the waterfront scenes along Beachside Avenue, Burying Hill Beach and Sasco Creek Road. It doesn’t hurt that her mom still lives in the area and leaves bottles of water on her front doorstep.

“I’m blessed to live in Westport, where it’s beautiful to go for a long run,” she said. “I’m happy to have her there on my route to give me hydration.”

Backus, a 2000 graduate of Greens Farms Academy, lives with her husband, Chris, a 1998 Staples graduate. They found their way back to Westport by way of Rhode Island, White Plains, N.Y., and East Norwalk before moving back and starting their family in 2012.

“It’s the best possible place to raise a family.,” she said. “Anyone who grew up here would want to come back if they can.”

To help Michelle Backus reach her goal of raising $50,000 for child cancer research, go to her Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge website page.

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John Palmer, a Norwalk native, is a freelance writer who has covered community news in Fairfield County and Massachusetts for over 30 years.