This one is for the daughters of Denver.
Perhaps your own daughters. Or your sister or niece or friend. Or even you.
This one is about empowering daughters to do daunting things.
“I, like a lot of women, have struggled with some self-doubt over the years,” Karen “Casey” Cortese said. “I think a lot of women do, even if there’s no logical reason for it. So I said — you know what, I’m going to prove once and for all that I can’t make excuses for myself. If I put my mind to it, I can do whatever I want to do.”
She did this for the daughters, the young women who struggle with confidence, with finding themselves. She embarked on this unfathomable journey — in which Cortese gave herself the nickname “The Crazy Girl” — to inspire other girls to run.
The plan was to run seven half marathons on seven continents in seven days.
After running six on six in six, Cortese faced weather obstacles in February when going from Chile to Antarctica. Forlorn, she ultimately ran a seventh half marathon in Chile — and, sure enough, finally went to Antarctica that afternoon. The next morning, she ran her first-ever full marathon, dressed “like the Michelin Man” on a trail literally littered with penguins.
Seven half marathons — and one full marathon — on seven continents in 11 days.
Oh, and by the way, she is 51 years old.
“We have to understand that most of the time, our biggest obstacles are ourselves,” Cortese said. “And our own mental doubt. But the best advice I can offer is to keep your eyes open to opportunities — unexpected opportunities — and never shut down a new idea just because it’s new or a little intimidating. And that’s in any facet of life.
“I wanted to do this for charity. I knew Girls On The Run was the absolute right charity to align with, because that’s exactly what they’re trying to teach girls.”
In Denver parks and sidewalks over the years, you might have spotted a gaggle of giggling girls, enjoying a run together. provides a 10- to 12-week program that teaches life lessons through distance running to impressionable young girls. It’s such a cool program. , who said: “I learned that I am the boss of my brain.”
But according to Cortese, 60 percent of the girls’ families can’t afford the program, so Girls On The Run has fundraisers to help cover the costs. Via her journey, Cortese raised about $12,000 to help Girls On The Run get girls running.
OK, so can we now take a second to fathom what The Crazy Girl actually did? And why?
“I originally started running,” she said, “because I could — it was something that was taken away from me, and then I felt so powerful when I was able to actually start running and not have this pain.”
For 17 years, this runner couldn’t run and this avid dancer couldn’t dance.
Cortese had surgeries and physical therapy but couldn’t rid herself of wretched knee pain. Finally, a treatment called rejuvenated her life.
“I did a half marathon to prove to myself that I was fixed,” she said. “That was in 2010. Something I never thought I’d do.”
She did five more, including a half marathon on the Great Wall of China. Cortese was joined by her sister, Marie, and their mother, Ruth, who was 74.
Seventy-four.
“I come from a family with a mother who believes you can do anything you want to do,” The Crazy Girl said.
OK, so she had now done six half marathons in her life. And suddenly she found herself agreeing to do seven half marathons on seven continents in seven days?
“At first I said — are you (bleeping) crazy?” Cortese recalled. “But it started creeping into my mind. I was like — OK, why would I not do it? My only answer was — it would be really, really, really hard. And that’s not a reason not to do something.”
She joined a group called — 35 men and women, ages 30 to 77. It was happening.
But it’s insanity, right? Almost no sleep, and constant travel? I get tired just flying from Denver to Detroit. But after her double digit-hour flights, she’d run a half marathon.
Melbourne, Australia, after 18 hours of travel. Abu Dhabi, UAE, on a 90-degree day with “oppressive heat.” Paris, France, in “this gray, thick cement-like mud that clung to your feet — you felt like you added 10 pounds to your weight.”
Tunis, Tunisia, where her hip flexor “screamed” and she wondered whether “a body travels faster than jet lag?” New York, New York, where her sister surprised her at the finish line. Punta Arenas, Chile, where she ran two separate half marathons.
See, the flight scheduled to King George Island, Antarctica, had to turn around just 20 minutes from landing because of poor weather. Can you imagine being so close to your goal, then having to turn back? Four times in the ensuing days the flight from Chile to Antarctica was canceled because of weather issues.
“Reality started to sink in,” she said. “Our trip was done.”
So, on Feb. 19, she decided to give herself closure. She pinned on her race number for the Antarctica race and reran the Chile course.
But as she approached the hotel afterward, she heard: “Karen! Karen!”
It was 12:45 in the afternoon — they were finally leaving for Antarctica at 2:30. This time, they didn’t need to turn back.
“The elation and joy was amazing,” said Cortese, who decided to run a full marathon there. “We were all going to miss our flights (home to America) on Thursday because we were doing the race on Thursday. And nobody cared. The prize of Antarctica was worth it.
“It was hilly, rocky, muddy, icy, trip hazards everywhere. There were a couple points in time I could have potentially given up. But I knew I was doing this for the girls of Girls On The Run. I wanted this to be an inspiration for them.”
For them? How about for all of us?
Benjamin Hochman: bhochman@denverpost.com or
