Running for a special cause

By Robert Daski

Published: October 29, 2008

The yellow armband remains wrapped around Ashley Hess’s left wrist. She and Forest Park’s boys’ and girls’ cross country athletes have worn the armbands in school, at the Cardinal District meet and plan to wear them after cross country season.
Emblazoned in the armband’s plastic is the phrase “Running for SH”, a reminder that Sondra Hess’s spirit remains in their presence.
Sondra Hess died Sept. 25 of a yet-to-be determined cause. She was the mother of Ashley and Marisa Hess, sisters who run for Forest Park’s girls’ cross country team.
“Every time I see someone wearing the armbands, you realize how many people care,” Ashley said. “Not just people on the team, but this whole experience, you really realize how many people care about you and care about mom.”
Sondra’s influence helped Ashley start running. After Sondra encouraged her daughter to find a sport, Ashley began running cross country and participating in track and field as a high school freshman.
Once Sondra noticed Ashley’s desire to run, she never stopped supporting her. She attended Forest Park’s cross country meets, taking pictures as Ashley and Marisa ran, and she socialized with parents of her daughters’ teammates.
“My wife never missed a meet,” Sondra’s husband Terry Hess said. “We tried to make the weekend meets together. That was a source of great inspiration for the girls.”
She took pride in seeing the expression on her daughters’ faces as they celebrated an achievement.
“She was always excited when we got a personal record,” Marisa said.
Sondra worked as a substitute teacher at Montclair Elementary School. She enjoyed working with special education children and often came home eager to tell her family about her day.
Sept. 24 was her first day in her new position as a teacher’s aide. That night, Ashley’s teammates came to her house to decorate her car in preparation for her to celebrate her 17th birthday the following day.
On Sept. 25, Ashley and Sondra said goodbye before Ashley shifted her focus to what she thought would be a wonderful day at school.
When she and Marisa returned home in the afternoon, the police cars and officers caught their eye. They could tell from seeing their father that something was wrong. So Terry asked a neighbor to take the girls into her home as the police conducted an investigation.
The girls were in tears. So was Terry.
Just then, Ashley was realizing what happened.
“I knew it was my mom,” she said. “I felt so bad.”
The grief remained for the next four days. Ashley stayed away from cross country. Instead, she picked out flowers and helped make funeral arrangements.
Marisa had trouble focusing in school.
“I would sit there and daze off,” she said.
Then the support of Forest Park’s cross country teams and the Montclair community came alive.
Their teammates and people from Montclair Elementary have taken turns bringing dinner to the Hess house. Teammates comfort Ashley and Marisa if either has a rough day. Ashley’s email has been flooded with supportive comments and others have come forward to express their sympathy. Close to 300 people attended Sondra’s funeral.
“I’ve talked to so many people I never thought cared,” Ashley said.
Ashley and Marisa are using that inspiration to help their team. Marisa placed 13th, Ashley 16th at the Oct. 23 district meet to accumulate points to help Forest Park win the Cardinal title.
The sisters are shifting their focus to today’s Northwest Region meet. Marisa district meet finish allowed her to qualify for the girls’ race. Ashley will run due to Forest Park’s district win.
They will spend the afternoon with their teammates and teammates’ parents, knowing being in the presence of those who care helps them move forward with their lives.
“Running is an outlet where you can relax and have people run with you,” Forest Park coach Andy Tramel said. “I think that helps in a situation like this.”