By Florida Catholic staff - Florida Catholic
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Immaculate Conception parishioner and Emmaus member Robert Hubbard thanks God after crossing the finish line of the 26.2-mile FitBit Miami Marathon. He's wearing Zoey Pavon's picture on his T-shirt.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Marathoner and Emmaus member Robert Hubbard gives his medal to fellow parishioner and Immacualate Conception student Zoey Pavon after finishing the 26 miles of the FitBit Miami Marathon.
MIAMI | Robert Hubbard, representing the men’s Emmaus group at Immaculate Conception Church in Hialeah, ran the full Fitbit Miami Marathon Jan. 28, in the process raising just over $9,000 for a fourth-grader who is battling cancer.
“My goal and desire were to complete the 26.2 miles in my efforts to raise money in name of Zoey Pavon,” said Hubbard, referring to the Immaculate Conception School fourth-grader who is battling stage four neuroblastoma.
“Zoey is a beautiful and sweet 9-year-old,” Hubbard said in a flyer asking people to sponsor his run at the rate of 50 cents or $1 per mile — $13 or $26 for the full marathon.
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Immaculate Conception parishioner and Emmaus member Robert Hubbard ran the 26.2-mile FitBit Miami Marathon while his son, Robert Jr., ran the half-marathon.
“Zoey loves to sing, dance, and play the piano,” he continued. “Since October of 2016 Zoey has endured two bone marrow transplants, 20 radiation treatments and eight chemotherapy sessions. Zoey has had multiple surgeries to have tumors removed and is currently enduring immune therapy.”
She has not been able to attend school this year but hopes to join her classmates at Immaculate this fall.
Zoey was waiting at the finish line for Hubbard, whose son, Robert, ran the half-marathon. She was escorted there by police and firefighters from Miami and Hialeah, and accompanied by members of Immaculate Conception’s men’s and women’s Emmaus groups.
“I gave her my medal after crossing the line. Her grandmother said she slept with it Sunday night,” said Hubbard.
An Immaculate parishioner who works for a faith-based travel company, his pace for the marathon was “10.42 minutes per mile, so not too bad.”
He said he started training for the marathon six months ago, and decided over Christmas to have “more purpose” for his run. That’s when he thought of Zoey.
“Well it just took,” he said. “Along with the GoFundMe profile, as well as donations offline, the Emmaus ministry at Immaculate has been fabulous in their support,” financially as well as in time and effort.
“It was brutal the last five miles,” he recalled. “High winds and sun, my feet on fire and legs aching. I had Zoey’s picture on my bib and knew she was at the finish line and could not let her down, so I finished the race running and frankly had nothing left in me. Tank was dry those last five miles. God carried me as he has done so before.”
The Scripture passage that kept him going, he said: “And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’”
Photographer: COURTESY PHOTO
Members of Immaculate Conception's Emmaus groups, along with their children and firefighters and police from Hialeah and Miami, pose at the finish line with Immaculate fourth-grader Zoey Pavon, center, who is being treated for stage four neuroblastoma.
