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By Ryan Crowe
It’s 6 a.m. Monday morning. While most of us hit the snooze button for the third time and cozy  back up under the covers, Janette Hill laces up her off-white Brooks shoes with purple trim and is out the door running--literally.
“If you had told me last year that I would be running a marathon, I would have thought you were crazy,” says Hill, an assistant professor in the School of Professional Studies in the College of Education. “Running for five or six hours straight, starting at 5 o’clock in the morning--who would possibly want to do something like that?”
Hill does. She endures this pain on behalf of the Arthritis Foundation, in conjunction with a program called Joints in Motion. Hill is training for a marathon, a 26-mile race in which her participation will raise $3,500 for research and patient services through the Foundation.
“I look at it as another challenge, doing something I’ve never done before. I’m a big fitness advocate, so I’m helping myself as well as a good cause in assisting those afflicted with the disease,” Hill says.
Hill has two honorees: Keesha, 27, who was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis six years ago shortly after the birth of her son; and Evan, 14, who was diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis at age six.
“Both of my honorees are amazing people; Keesha is such an amazing inspiration with the things she has had to overcome, and Evan and his family have been dealing with this since his childhood,” Hill says. “Running this marathon is a way that I can support a very important cause, because I am physically able to do so.”
University employees who aren’t ready to run 26 miles can also support the Arthritis Foundation--and some 900 additional organizations--through the annual Campaign for Charities. All UGA employees have received a contribution form on which they can specify amounts and recipient organizations. This year’s campaign goal is $435,000, and the campaign ends Dec. 3. Employees may contribute through payroll deduction, cash, check or money order.
On average, Hill spends between five and ten hours a week training for the marathon, scheduled for Thanksgiving Day in Atlanta. She runs three to four miles twice a week in Athens on weekdays with her golden retriever, Grit, and follows that with 10-mile runs with a training group in Atlanta on the weekends.
“A lot of the training is mental, rather than physical. I have to psych myself up and remember that I’m helping out the Foundation, and trying to assist those who aren’t able to do this,” Hill says.
And to anyone who might question Hill’s ability to complete this daunting task, she has this to say: “My running group trains us to finish, and I have absolutely no doubts that I will finish this marathon.”
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