In Honor of Catherine – The 2017 Rock N’ Race Is Here

I enjoy writing, but some posts are a lot harder to write than others. 

That is certainly the case this year as we start forming our team for the 2017 ​Rock N' Race, which is always one of the biggest community events in Concord as well as one of our biggest fundraising efforts.

For those of you not familiar, the Rock 'N Race is a 5k run/walk that raises funds for the Concord Hospital Payson Center for Cancer Care. This is the 15th year this event has been held, and Get Fit NH has been sponsoring a team and raising funds for the last 7 or 8 years - just about as long as we have been around.

It is no secret that cancer touches all our lives in one way or another. We all have friends, family, and co-workers whose lives have been changed forever by this disease, and the Get Fit NH family is no exception. Right now Coach Nancy's sister Sharon is fighting cancer for the second time. Others have loved ones they have lost or are in midst of the battle. Our thoughts and prayers are with them, and you who support them.

This year however, is especially tough for one of our own, Jim Knee, as he mourns the loss of his dear wife Catherine Dowd. Catherine lost her battle with cancer on December 30 of last year. This is not the first time I have seen one of our Get Fit men lose his wife to this disease, and while I cannot imagine what they have and are going through, I don't have to sit by and do nothing either. I hope you will join me by taking action and getting involved in the Rock N' Race this year, as a sponsor, runner, or walker.

Doesn't have to be on our team. It's not about us, or who has the biggest team, or the awards we can win. It's about men like Jim Knee, and Tom Barker, and Dan Gauthier, who need to know that those they have lost are not forgotten, and that somebody cares enough to do something about it, no matter how small. It is an added bonus that the Rock N' Race just happens to be a ton of fun - Music, Food and Contests. It's a family event and you don't have to be a great runner (or a runner at all) to come down and have a good time.

Are you in?

Let's Make It Happen!

15th Annual Merrimack County Savings Bank Rock N' Race

​May 18, 2017

6:00pm

Downtown Concord

As a postscript I want to thank Jim for his graciousness. He is a quiet guy, and his hurt is still deep. How could it not be? It would be easier to just stay quiet and not bring up the pain. But he set that aside so others could be helped. Cancer is not "just" a disease. Cancer has a name, a face, and a story. Here is just a small part of Catherine's.

Catherine C. Dowd, 64, died Friday, Dec. 30, 2016, in Concord VNA Hospice, Concord, after a long illness.

She is survived by her husband of 16 years, James E. Knee; two sons, Conor P. McNally of Essex, Vt., and Hugh F. McNally of Bethlehem; her mother, Vivian (Tambolleo) Dowd, of Sterling, Mass.; three brothers, Thomas F. Dowd Jr., of Holden, Mass., Peter M. Dowd of Sterling, Mass. and James J. Dowd of Grifton, N.C.; a sister, Therese Vattes, of Bolton, Mass.; two step-sons, Michael Knee and Matthew Knee, both of Concord; aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, and cousins; and her beloved animals, dog, Obo, and horses, Pumpkin and King.

Catherine was born in Worcester, Mass., and raised in Clinton, Mass., daughter of the late Thomas F. Dowd. She was a graduate of Sacred Heart High School, Worcester, Mass. and Atlantic Union College, South Lancaster, Mass., where she earned her degree in Nursing.

As a Registered Nurse, Catherine started her career at St. Vincent Hospital, Worcester, Mass., prior to relocating to New Hampshire, where she began a 29 year career at Littleton Hospital, before working at Concord Hospital for more than 12 years before her retirement.

She was a former member of St. John the Guardian of Our Lady Parish, Clinton, Mass. An avid skier and mountain hiker, Catherine was a talented equestrian, who, along with Jim, kept horses on their former farm in Franconia. It was there that she cared for her most-loved mare, Heiress.

​Thank-you Jim. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with you.