FOR KATE: My 1st Marathon in Her Life & Honor

On April 3rd, my dad and I are embarking on something we’ve never done before: running our first marathons. No strangers to adventure, we are meeting halfway in between our respective homes of Los Angeles and Singapore to conquer this accomplishment. Bonjour Paris! 

As I train daily and prepare for 26.2 miles, there is only one person in this world I want to dedicate my run to: KATE MCLAUGHLIN.

One year ago, my beautiful friend Kate lost her short battle to cancer- what started as a rare tumor quickly spread into her ovaries, uterus, abdomen and stomach.

It was a sudden diagnosis and it was/is too tragic to comprehend--there's no universe in which it makes sense. She was only 30.

To know Kate, was to know how light physically manifests into a human being. I met Kate during a Grammy week many years back when the record label I worked for at the time pulled out all the stops to sign her extraordinary sister to be one of our artists. From that first meeting, I knew Kate and her sister would be in my life forever. For one, our lives as third culture kids growing up abroad paralleled one another’s too closely (we came to find out that we went lived in the same exact neighborhood in Hong Kong and even attended the same school). And secondly, because I quickly realized we all shared a gift so rare and pure that only those lucky enough to have it know it to be true: there is nothing stronger than the love and the bond of sisters. The way Kate and her sister are sisters is the way my sister and I are sisters: best friends, teammates, road dogs, cheerleaders and soul mates.

There was not a day in Kate’s life where she didn’t support those she loved, especially her sister. Every room she entered would echo with her contagious laughter, and every person she encountered was left feeling seen and embraced.

Kate has been one of my greatest teachers in life, and with her passing, I vowed to live everyday intentionally and in her honor. And not just to live but to really L-I-V-E in every sense of the word because Kate wasn’t given the chance to, and to smile, as she always so massively did, through it all. 

In honor of my dear, bright shining Kate, I pledge to raise money in support of the Dear Jack Foundation, which provides quality of life programming that directly benefits young adult cancer patients, survivors and their families (young adults are the most underserved patient population by age). Founded by one of her favorite musicians Andrew McMahon (Something Corporate, Jack’s Mannequin, Andrew McMahon and the Wilderness), a young adult cancer survivor himself, your donations will go directly towards supporting young people who may need additional resources to cope with their diagnosis, or perhaps need a little bit of hope.

Thank you for your support, thank you for your cheers (I can already hear them ringing in my head during the race), tell those you love that you love them often, and live fully.

All my love,

Ileana V. Diez