From Dreams to Reality – Writing a Memoir of Narcolepsy

There are many comedic portrayals of narcolepsy in the media – “Mr. Bean”, “Deuce Bigalow Male Gigolo” and “Moulin Rouge” – these films feature characters with narcolepsy who fall asleep while standing and the audience gets a quick laugh. Yet as a law student diagnosed with narcolepsy at age 24, I’d never fallen asleep while standing.…

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Love to Boston

“The heart of the world beats under the three hills of Boston.”
 -Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. The tragic explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line yesterday hit close to home. While I was far away in Virginia, my memory of crossing that finish line 3 years ago remains close to my heart.  Glued to the…

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The Ugly Truth About Getting Back In Shape

There is nothing romantic about getting back in shape.  I don’t care how joyous the lady on the Weight Watchers commercials looks or how thrilling it is to buy new fancy workout gear. When you get down to ACTUALLY getting back in shape – it’s a sweaty mess. After I ran the Boston Marathon last…

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After the Party Is the After-Party

In the after-glow of the marathon, I made my way from the finish line over to Sonsie Restaurant on Newbury Street, where Wake Up Narcolepsy was hosting a post-race celebration for its four marathon runners and their supporters. Although physically drained, I was still “flying high” with awe and excitement that I’d actually done it! …

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From Start To Finish

The first half of the marathon, running through Hopkinton, Ashland, Framingham and Natick can be summed up in one snapshot – me being passed.  I wasn’t passed by a few runners, I was passed by everyone. The gazelles flew by first, rubbing elbows with me as they weaved their maze around the slower runners –…

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Going The Extra Mile

“It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.” -Charles Dickens   6:30am on Marathon Monday:Waiting to board a bus to Hopkinton,with my official marathon bag slung over my shoulder.   On the morning of the marathon, I awoke at 5:11am, still a little groggy from my nighttime medication, but there was…

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Carbathon 2010

Like all good marathon stories, this one begins with PASTA! The night before the race, I met a group of friends at an Italian restaurant in my old Fenway neighborhood. We sat at a long table together – laughing, joking and most importantly – consuming copious amounts of carbohydrates. As a huge pasta-lover, I was…

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312 Miles Down, 26.2 To Go

Six months ago, on October 7th, 2009, at 4:26pm – I received an email from Kevin Cosgrove, founder of Wake Up Narcolepsy asking, “Julie, Would any of your friends want to run the marathon for WUN? We’ve received  4 official entries.” Exactly three minutes later, at 4:29pm, I responded: “Hi Kevin, That is such great…

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Let’s Get This Party Started!

(Warning, this is a simulation,  I have not actually broken the tape at the finish line to win the marathon. Not yet, anyway…)   This morning, I met up with two of the other runners from Team Wake Up Narcolepsy and together we visited the Boston Marathon Expo to pick up our official bibs and…

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Boston, You’re My Home!

Our plane dropped under a thick layer of clouds, revealing the south side of Boston, little islands interspersed along the coastline. Land and sea washing into one another, like watercolor patches of green and blue paint. The miniature play-size buildings grew to life-size homes, garages, and cars. I’ve flown into Boston countless times over my…

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