Grit, determination and personalized care make PMDC patient’s 2nd Boston Marathon possible

By Dan Carrigan

“To finish the race is just magical,” Trent says about the Boston Marathon. “They do a great job there in Boston, that when you finish it, there’s always people around you.”

As one of the most prestigious and challenging races in the world, qualifying for and running the Boston Marathon
is a singular life achievement for many. Aside from the entry criteria, the
race is notoriously difficult, featuring varying terrain and infamous sections like Heartbreak Hill that tests runners’ endurance with a steep incline late in the race.

Trent, 55, has run Boston twice — with early onset Parkinson’s disease.

While many may view the condition as a barrier, she doesn’t see it that way.

“I like to make light of my Parkinson’s.” shares Trent, who is from Lynchburg, Va. “I tell people I can run a marathon, and I can put out all the pain because my brain is messed up!”

The course from Lynchburg to PMDC

Trent’s journey with Parkinson’s began in 2017. What started as loved ones noticing a tremor in her right hand led to a diagnosis and an unexpected patient journey. Initially, she struggled to navigate the health care system and sought out the right doctor who could understand her unique needs as a young onset patient.

“When I was diagnosed, the doctor here in Lynchburg looked at me and said ‘I have zero young onset patients,’” Trent recalls.

Undeterred, she sought out specialists who could provide the level of care
she needed. Through perseverance
and determination, she finally found a supportive neurologist in PMDC Director Brian Berman, M.D., M.S. He not only treated her condition, but also shared her passion for running.

“We’ve worked for a while to keep her treated as well as possible, so that she can continue to stay active, which we know can help slow the disease down,” Berman says.

“He understood the physical parts of running a marathon and the pull on your reserves and your energy and everything,” Trent explains. “He really was able to say, ‘Well, how about if we tried this?’”

“The medication only works for four hours. So, as you well know, I’m not finishing a marathon in under four hours,” Trent adds.

Trent’s First Boston Marathon in 2021

To manage her condition, running became more than just a hobby for Trent — it became a form of therapy and a way to reclaim control over her life. Encouraged by friends and other patients online, she set her sights on qualifying for the Boston Marathon.

“I had started running, a lot,” Trent explains.

Around that time, her training plan consisted of a combination of long runs, speed workouts, and strength training sessions. Berman, meanwhile, was there to offer health care and medication to manage her condition.

In 2021, she qualified as an adaptive athlete for her first Boston Marathon.

With miles of running in the hills and mountains of Virginia behind her, she took on the grueling course. The result? A 3:52, sub-4-hour marathon that in any other race would have secured her spot without an adaptive athlete designation.

“She just keeps going and finding new, bigger challenges,” Berman says. “I’m just very, very impressed by her.”

‘Boston Marathon does not reach out to people’

Despite rarely communicating directly with would-be runners, organizers of the Boston Marathon emailed Trent to see if she’d be interested in running again in 2024 as a para-athlete. Parkinson’s patients could run under the new classification.

“I was like, ‘Oh my God, you actually received a proactive email from the Boston Marathon,’” Trent recalls.

Turns out, the Boston Marathon didn’t have enough para-athletes participating and invited Trent to run in the division.

“When I saw that, I was just like, I mean, this is groundbreaking,” Trent says.

However, to take on Boston a second time, she’d need to find the strength to train quickly and overcome flaring symptoms.

“I really didn’t train as well because, obviously, I didn’t have enough time. But I also have been having a lot more symptoms,” Trent explained.

Despite these challenges, she had a goal in mind.

“But you know, the answer was: I was going to go, and I was going to finish,” she says. “That was always going to happen, it was going to happen regardless.”

But race day conditions proved challenging, including a warm Boston day. Trent also faced challenges during the race related to her Parkinson’s symptoms.

“I did have some of my symptoms come. And I was kind of hunched over when I was running at first, but the medical team pulled me aside and said, ‘Hey, we want you to kind of sit down and get your wits about you.’ So, I sat down for 10 minutes. And the medical team let me go, and I finished with a 5:01 across the finish line.”

Extending an Invitation and Inspiring Others

Trent extended a heartfelt invitation to Berman to join her in her next Boston Marathon, should she decide to tackle the race again.

“As an adaptive athlete, I can run with a guide runner. And I told Dr. Berman, I said, ‘You’re going to go to Boston either as a runner or as my guide runner because you got to run Boston.’”

“[Dr. Berman] understood the physical parts of running a marathon and the pull on your reserves and your energy and everything. He really was able to say, ‘Well, how about if we tried this?”

“I’d welcome the opportunity to lace up my running shoes to support Renee on another step of her inspiring journey,” Berman says.

Trent — who also participates in races to raise funds and awareness for Parkinson’s research — says she hopes to help those who supported her journey and to inspire others.

“If I can help one person understand what they have to do to live well, it’s all worthwhile,” Trent says.