Did You Mettle?

Made of Mettle

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By Dr. Isenberg's guess, M4M has collected and distributed more than 3,500 medals, thanks to the efforts of a core of nine volunteers. The group is headquartered in Dr. Isenberg's Indianapolis office, where volunteers take the medals, donated from events of different distances worldwide, and attach new M4M-branded ribbons before sending them to hospitals. Dr. Isenberg devotes at least 12 hours each week to M4M, around his medical practice and his training. Since that first marathon in 2003, he has completed about 20, with a personal best of 3:30. He plans to run Chicago again in October.

Some medals arrive with legacy cards, which detail the donor's reasons for giving away their prize. One anonymous donor attached a note to a 2008 Indianapolis Mini-Marathon medal that read: "The children who battle deadly diseases are far more deserving of this medal than I am. My son was a Riley kid who died of bone cancer. I've seen the courage of the kids at Riley, and they deserve to be honored and cured." A runner's medal might not be able to cure a disease, but as Dr. Isenberg has found, it can lift a spirit.