Leon pushed "Giana's Boat" along the track.
Almost twenty years ago, there was a movie that fascinated me. The protagonist was named Leon, and he was with a cool little girl. One of their dialogues went like this: the little girl asked, "Is life always this hard, or is it just when you're a kid?" Leon replied, "Always like this." The original title of the movie was *Leon*, but it is often translated as *Léon: The Professional*.
Just last week, HuffPost reported another story about a Leon that moved many people. Eli Leon and his 6-year-old daughter Giana recently crossed the 42-kilometer finish line first together at the Beaumont Marathon in Texas, winning the championship of the race.
The 32-year-old Leon is a brain cancer patient. All the doctors were helpless about his condition. They told Leon they hoped treatment could help him live until 40. In an interview with HuffPost, Leon said, "Life goes downhill fast after you turn thirty." He was diagnosed with a brain tumor in 2010 and underwent his first brain surgery right after he had just celebrated his 30th birthday. After divorcing Giana’s mother, he lived with his daughter. What troubled him most was explaining his illness to his then four-year-old child. He tried not to let her see the painful moments during his episodes, but each attack affected his language, memory, and mobility. He worried that one day he might not recognize her, which would break the young Giana’s heart.
"I want to spend more time with my daughter," Leon told HuffPost. "Instead of sitting around waiting for someone to tell me when I’ll die, I’d rather use the rest of my life to do something, to embrace my family, and be with the people I love."
After falling ill, Leon could no longer drive, work, or take part in contact sports—except running. Doctors didn’t explicitly oppose his running, but they never guaranteed he could run a marathon either. "Running is just about lifting one foot after the other," Leon said. And so he started running—with Giana. In October 2012, they completed their first half marathon, with Giana sitting in a stroller pushed by Leon. Since then, the father-daughter duo has completed six long-distance races, and this recent one was the first time they brought home a medal.
During the race, Giana comfortably lay back in the stroller. Most of the time, Leon played Disney songs from his iPhone for her. Giana would peer through the stroller’s canopy window to observe Leon’s expressions and gauge his condition. Sometimes she’d shout, "Dad, you can go faster!" In the final few kilometers, the route was lined with supporters, and a cyclist rode alongside them, singing Bon Jovi’s "It’s My Life" loudly.
Leon, pushing "Giana’s Boat" (as he affectionately called the stroller), crossed the finish line first in 3 hours, 7 minutes, and 36 seconds. It took another runner six minutes to reach the end. It wasn’t a high-level competitive race, but it was extraordinary for this father and daughter. "Brain cancer may erase my memories, but I hope this run is the last thing I forget—and the one she remembers forever," Leon said emotionally by the finish line.
Leon lifted Giana and stepped onto the podium. He said earnestly, "Giana is the real champion of this race because she crossed the finish line first." Then he quickly hung the medal around her neck.
As a father who can’t work and suffers from a serious illness, what more can he leave for his 6-year-old daughter? The U.S. Sports & Fitness Association plans to establish a fund to support Giana’s future college education, with a goal of raising $30,000.