Hero Spotlight: Heather Mellish
In the spring of 2020, Heather Mellish was preparing to run the Bank of America Chicago Marathon as part of the Mercy Home Heroes. It would be her 20th marathon and a return to the sport after an 18-month hiatus. Amidst the shutdowns and shelter-in-place orders of the COVID-19 pandemic, rising early and running alone gave the mother of four a much-needed outlet for her physical and mental health.
In July, however, event organizers and the City of Chicago announced that the marathon would be cancelled that fall due to ongoing public health concerns. Mellish’s quest for marathon number 20 was put on hold. After that, the demands of a busy life pushed her goal back even further.
Now, six years later, a determined Mellish is gearing up to cross the finish line for the 20th time—one victory lap for each year of motherhood.
"I’ve been a mom for 20 years. My kids inspire me every day and this was the inspiration [I needed] to start running again and restore a healthier lifestyle for them."
Mellish reflected on what first ignited a passion for the sport. While vacationing with friends more than 25 years ago, Mellish hurt her foot going up some stairs. When she returned home to Dallas, a visit to the emergency room confirmed it had been broken. She was not looking forward to hobbling around on crutches in the sunny Texas weather. She even started to long for athletic hobbies she’d never had before.
“I was like, ‘man, I can’t even run,’” she remembers. “Then I was like, ‘well, I don’t really run…’”
She decided to change that and signed up to run with The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training, which carried special meaning as her grandmother passed away from lymphoma. And in June of 2000, she ran her first marathon in San Diego.
Since then, Mellish has run marathons in New York City, Los Angeles, Houston, Salt Lake City, and Boulder and Steamboat Springs in Colorado. She has also completed the Bank of America Chicago Marathon an incredible 13 times. In 2012, she not only ran on our Heroes team for the first time, but for Team MERITHON as well.
When the daughter of Mellish’s family friends passed away, they started the Meredith Williams Foundation in her honor. Meredith, known by her friends as Meri, had a friend who worked at Mercy Home for Boys & Girls. In finding a way to honor her spirit of energy through movement, Meri’s friends started Team MERITHON in 2011 to run for Mercy Home. Since then, the team has raised more than $150,000 for our kids.
“Running on behalf of Team Merithon for Mercy home is an honor," Mellish said.
Though she had run the Chicago Marathon previously, Mellish found that running with Mercy Home was very different.
“It was amazing… I said that as long as I’m going to run the Chicago Marathon, I’ll run it on behalf of Mercy Home,” Mellish said. “It’s so unique that (the Home is) right on the marathon course, and that’s really hard to compete with experience-wise. It’s just great.”
Though Heather grew up in Chicago, she no longer resides there. And while she would like to participate in the CARA training runs, she finds that she is able to stay connected to the team through social media. And she appreciates all the perks that make for a smooth marathon weekend when she and her family come to town.
“I really like the pasta dinner – I feel like it gives you a tangible, inside experience to seeing Mercy Home and being a part of it,” she said.
“The support the day of the race – just being able to show up at Hero Headquarters and walk two blocks to the start of the race, being able to keep my things there, and having a place for my family to be at the end of the race – it’s invaluable.”
Mellish has come a long way since she broke her foot and decided to become a marathoner 25+ years ago. She has conquered 26.2 miles in some beautiful cities, and raised money for some amazing causes, which we are honored to be a part of. And along the journey, she’s learned some important lessons from this simple hobby.
“I think the marathon is a metaphor for life,” she said.
“All the different emotions and physical experiences you go through – you can plan so well for something that you think is going to be so well architected, and then you show up on race day and it’s raining, or it’s snowing, or you’re sick…But if you really put your mind to it and you go into it with understanding that expectations are kind of going to go up and down – you can prepare for the unexpected.”
Melish is looking forward to getting back on the course and views year’s quest as special.
"It would be my 20th marathon celebrating my 20 years of being a mom,” Mellish said.” There is something about running 26 miles in 2026 that rings a bell too.”
She added that of all the marathons she’s competed in to date, Chicago ranks at the top. What truly keeps her motivated through her training after six years off are the futures of our boys and girls and the memory of a dear family friend.
"Team Merithon is what sparked me to get my shoes back on,” Mellish said. “Meredith Williams and her parents Jim and Pam are family to us. Jim and Pam have been through have endured the loss of Meri. If I can raise money in their daughter’s honor to benefit Mercy Home, that is enough motivation for me to get back at it."
In the midst of a busy life, Mellish is also recouping the health benefits and the sense of joy from distance running that got her though those challenging early months of the pandemic.
"It’s been really easy to prioritize everything else but me since my last marathon,” she said. “This is me changing that and I’m excited if not a bit nervous too!”
To her fellow Heroes, she added, “See you in October!"
