Run Your Own Race – a Column by Calvin Harris

April 15, 1994: On that day, my life was changed with the passing of my mother. Joyce Ann Monroe Harris was just 50 years old when she died, a bit younger than I am today. That was 29 years ago! It seems like a lifetime. I can’t even begin to…

The year 2022 was one I won’t soon forget. Yes, it’s easy to say that right after it’s ended. But sometimes, you just know that a time was special, don’t you? Like much of the world, I knew that 2020 would be memorable, what with the COVID-19 pandemic starting and…

I’m a marathoner! On Sunday, Nov. 6, I ran the TCS New York City Marathon, my first 26.2-mile race. And I did it with sarcoidosis-affected lungs. In the end, each mile was like a race of its own. Miles 1–2: I’m on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, leaving Staten…

Recently, I’ve had a dry cough that just won’t go away. I know that’s an odd way to start a column, but it’s that annoying. Fortunately, I’m pretty sure the cough is due to the seasons changing here in New York, as my lungs and sinuses often need a few…

I’m training for the TCS New York City Marathon this November. It’s been quite a challenge, as I’ll be a rookie marathoner over 50 years old who has pulmonary sarcoidosis. Needless to say, I do all this with my the approval of my doctor at the…

Happy anniversary to me! On Sept. 24, 2014, I was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. These eight years have been quite amazing, though I previously thought the date had been closer to nine years. Regardless, when I think of where my life was at that time — in Maryland, struggling to…

Hope. “I guess it comes down to a simple choice, really. You get busy living, or get busy dying.” Recently, I’ve found myself watching and rewatching one of my favorite movies, “The Shawshank Redemption,” starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins. The movie chronicles their friendship at a fictional…

I’m in the middle of training for the TCS New York City Marathon, the largest marathon in the world. I also have pulmonary sarcoidosis. I have written many times about my love of running, which I discovered at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. My favorite gyms…

The last few weeks have been an excellent reminder of just how important and vital community can be, especially when you have a rare disease. Last weekend, the Foundation for Sarcoidosis Research (FSR) hosted its Global Virtual Patient Summit. FSR does a great job of bringing the sarcoidosis…

This week marks my one-year anniversary as a columnist for Sarcoidosis News. I once read that we tend to underestimate how much our lives can change in a decade, but overestimate the potential change in a year. With all due respect, that person hasn’t seen my life! There…