By Good Housekeping
The
Gonzalez family is gathered on and around the sectional sofa in their
living room. They explain that, in many ways, their clan is like the
Brady Bunch. "Except we don't have a maid!" quips matriarch Rosie. She
and her husband, Omar, high-five as the six kids giggle. "We love that
show!" the children shout.
[post_ads]Unfortunately,
their story is no comedy — when Rosie's brother died suddenly in 2012,
his four youngest children moved into their aunt and uncle's Los Angeles
home. Rosie, 37, and Omar, 39, had two children of their own, Jasmine,
now 17, and Omar Jr. (known as Junior), now 9. Nieces and nephews
Alyssa, Jimmy III, Deanna and Nathan Hughes, ages 15, 14, 12 and 10
(plus Rosie's dad, Jimmy Sr., 61) brought the head count to nine.
The
other big difference? The Bradys didn't run together regularly. The
Gonzalezes have each pledged to cover over 100 miles — the equivalent of
four marathons — this year.
They
didn't start off as a family of athletes. When Jasmine and Junior were
small, graphic designer Omar and Rosie, a nurse for assisted-living
patients, got caught up in work and parenting and didn't make time to be
active. Then, when the financial market crashed in 2008, Omar lost his
job and became depressed. Over 10 years, Rosie gained about 30 pounds,
and Omar gained 100. That was when he began running.
[post_ads_2]
By
2009, Omar had found a new job, and running helped him emotionally and
physically. "I started with a 5K race. Then I ran a 10K and a half
marathon, and I lost over 100 pounds," he says. Rosie joined him on some
of his training runs — sort of. "I would run behind Omar. I struggled a
lot because I have asthma," she says, "but running helped me focus on
my breathing pattern. I learned how to breathe differently, through my
nose more than my mouth, and eventually no longer had to use my inhaler
when I ran." Over the next couple of years, she lost the 30 pounds she'd
put on and found that her energy skyrocketed.
In
September 2012, just when life felt as if it was back on track, Rosie's
brother died of a massive heart attack while driving. That very night
Rosie and Omar moved their nieces and nephews into their home. "It was
second nature," says Rosie.
Just when life felt back on track, Rosie's brother died of a heart attack."
The
cousins adore one another, but, says Rosie, "it's been stressful," with
the chaos of bringing six kids to their various activities as well as
the financial pressures. "They're growing and there's only so much
clothing you can hand down," Rosie says. To increase their earning
potential, Rosie went back to school for her RN degree, and Omar began
working on a business idea. Running became their thrice-weekly dose of
sanity.
Then, in fall
2015, a message popped up on Omar's Nike running app about Marathon
Kids, a program that guides participants to complete four marathons'
worth of miles (with kids!) each season. "My eyes lit up," says Omar.
The kids were so busy with their own interests that the Gonzalezes
weren't exactly a cohesive unit. I thought this would be a way to get
all the kids to start running and a great way to do something together,"
Omar says.
They
signed up with Marathon Kids, but Rosie was nervous at first. "That
number, 104.8, sounds like a whole lot of miles!" she says. But they
were soon hooked. Several days a week after school, a few of the kids do
one or two miles in the neighborhood or take turns on the treadmill in
the house. On Tuesday mornings, Rosie takes three of the children on a
1.5-mile course to school. And on weekends, Rosie and Omar take turns
leading a run along a hiking trail, on the beach or while touring a cool
new spot. When the pack returns, the kids race to the foyer to fill in
their taped-up progress sheets (they log up to seven miles per week)
with a shared blue marker. "Nathan and Junior and I fight over who gets
the marker first!" says Deanna.
The
system generates some healthy athletic competition as well. "I beat you
running outside," Rosie teases her nephew Jimmy. "Barely!" he responds.
"That was a while ago. It will never happen again!" When the thought of
kicking one another's butts isn't enough to get them lacing up, they
find other motivations. "One day, I said, 'Who wants to go get ice
cream?' " says Omar, "and everyone was like, 'I do!' I said, 'Okay …
we're gonna run there.' " Two miles later, they celebrated with
something cold and creamy.
[post_ads]Generally,
though, the built-in benefits of running are reward enough. Omar is at
his high school weight now, and Rosie is close to hers. "I gotta run,"
says Rosie. "If I'm putting myself first, I can better take care of
everyone else." The kids say the more stress Rosie leaves in the dust,
the better off they all are. "She's more calm," says Jasmine. "And
always on top of things," adds Deanna. The kids, too, are converts. "It
helps me in other sports, like basketball," says Junior. "I'm more
goal-oriented now," adds Jasmine.
The biggest win? They now function as a team. "I see them motivating each other," says
Rosie.
"When we go for a run and Nathan's complaining, Alyssa is like, 'Come
on Nathan, you can do it!' and she'll slow down to run with him."
As
they're gathered close, talking and giggling, it's clear how tight they
are. "They've had such a hard life. It isn't fair," Rosie says, wiping
away tears. "I just want them all to be happy."
And are they? "Yeah," the kids reply.
"That's my goal, to keep them happy and moving forward," says Rosie
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