(October 14, 2004) — In one breath Sarah Schwald says "you know I don't do road races" and the next breath says "but I'm coming back for the Run For Hospice."

Which begs the question, why?

The former No. 2-ranked 1,500-meter runner in the world answers almost before it's asked:

"It's the most incredibly well-run race, and I feel strongly about the cause."

Welcome back for visit No. 3 to a 31-year-old lady from Wisconsin who used to be so full of energy she'd define a workout as a run to the 7-11 for a Slurpee.

Becoming a 4 minute, 4.33-second metric miler was no accident, though. There were plenty of hard runs and tough races. She might still be hitting the 4:04 numbers were it not for injuries and ill fortune that have plagued her in a 20-year racing career that started in grade school in Seattle, Wash.

Schwald captivated audiences at the final Katie Harper 10K in Perinton in September 2003, which she didn't run because of a foot injury, and a month later at the Hospice Run across town in Greece, which she did, still ailing.

So it didn't take Hospice race director Pete Van Peursem long — about two minutes after she'd finished — to entice her back for Saturday's 2004 edition of the area's most popular, and richest, 5K.

"She's a class act, and a great runner," he said. "She was hurt last year — plantar fasciiitis — and still jogged it in 17:20-something," he said. It was 17:28, good for sixth place.

This time around she says finding soft shoe inserts have helped her feet, but that's not to say she's going to tear up the 3.1- mile course chasing the new Americans-only first-place prize of $500.

"I'm not in great 5K shape," she said Tuesday evening by phone from her Madison apartment, "but I remember my visit last year was such a positive feeling ... people were so nice ... and I believe so strongly that it's important people know what nursing hospice is all about. I wouldn't miss it."

Visiting Nurse Service of Rochester and Monroe County Inc. is charitable beneficiary for the race, held in memory of Van Peursem's mother, Helen Van Peursem.

Four years ago Schwald saw first-hand how hospice care supports the terminally ill and their families. An aunt and uncle, sister and brother to her mother, Joanie Schwald, were under hospice care in their last months.

"People don't know," Sarah said, "how helpful it is for families. So many think it's just about caring for the dying."

Schwald's last 12 months have been another testament to her patience.

Her career has included stress fractures, plantar fasciitis — inflammation of the tissue on the bottom of her feet — anemia (that was diagnosed just weeks before the Olympic Trials in June, requiring iron injections) and a stomach virus that bogged her down the last time she raced, in Berlin, Germany, in September.

About the same time she broke up with her longtime boyfriend, steeplechaser Pascal Dobert. He moved to Indianapolis, Ind., to train, and she stayed in Madison to stick with her coach, Peter Tegen at the University of Wisconsin.

"It wasn't the year I had hoped for," she said, masking the pain of missing out on a possible Olympic berth in the twilight of her racing career.

"I think I finally have some relief from the plantar fasciitis," she said, "so I can train and run again."

JCASTOR@Democrat and Chronicle.com

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