Running for Dillon

Sunday morning runners pushed through sore muscles, leg cramps and fatigue to make it to the finish line. But runner David Rolins says that pain is nothing compared to what his son went through a couple of years ago. Rolins ran his first marathon in memory of his son, Dillon, who died of cancer at three years old. "He never let it bother him, he kept going through the whole thing, nothing ever slowed him down," said Rolins` wife, Lisa of their son. And that`s the spirit David Rolins kept throughout the enduring race. "If he could go through all that, I could at least go through this for a few hours," Rolins said. Doctors found cancer behind Dillon`s eye, in his right lung, above his kidneys and on both adrenal glands. Dillon went through months of chemotherapy and treatment before a remission, and then a relapse. But Dillon`s attitude made him the toughest man his father has ever known. "For all he went through he was as normal as a three year old could be. He played aside from the fact he couldn`t be around other kids," Rolins said. During the race, Rolins had his own pain to deal with. "I think once the sun started coming out and I got past about 18 miles, my legs started just hurting," Rolins said. He kept pushing to run the race of life for his son, Dillon. After crossing the finish line in 4 hours and 35 minutes, Rolins was greeted with hugs from his eager 2-year old, Zack. Friday, March 12th, marks the 2nd anniversary of Dillon`s death.