[BobbyB]

Marathoner Inspired By Memory Of His Mother
Susan Campbell
October 28, 2007

Early on, Bradlee Benn came up with a nickname for his dynamo of a mother: Big M.

Suzette Lorraine Moore Benn is probably best-known in Connecticut for her work during her 15 years at the state Department of Health. She was Gov. Lowell P. Weicker's special assistant for health affairs. She worked at the Urban League and volunteered at Hartford Hospital, the American Heart Association and the American Red Cross. She worked on multiple commissions, and in her spare time, she wrapped gifts for the elderly. She published articles, won awards.

Born in what is now Guyana, Suzette showed promise early on. She earned a degree in biological sciences at Southern Illinois University and a master's in public health from the University of Massachusetts.




After she and her then-husband had their only child, Bradlee, in 1975, she added a new layer to volunteering PTA, graduation committee, sitting in the bleachers, cheering for Brad. When Brad was an adolescent and his parents divorced, Big M kept up with her professional obligations, and still maintained perfect attendance at school events.

Big M actually a petite woman was the mother who did everything. As the years passed, people wondered what such an active woman would do with retirement. Can a dynamo retire?

And then, in July 2005, she was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig's disease, a degenerative neurological disease.

Suzette was still in West Hartford, where she had lived for 30-some years. Brad, a vice president with American Express, was in New York. He told his bosses he needed time with his mother, and he reconfigured his schedule so he wouldn't travel much. The two went on a cruise in December 2005. Brad remembers turning away from his mother for a second, and then turning back to see her out on the dance floor, mixing it up.

That happened more than once.

But the disease progressed. When Brad got married in May 2006, Suzette vowed she would walk down the aisle, and dance with her son. She moved into the couple's New York home a few months later.

This past February, Brad's wife, Jennifer, was out having dinner with friends. He was supposed to be away on business, but his plans changed. He and his mother sat and watched a video he has made for her 60th birthday, a montage of family photos, the music she loved (Nat King Cole and the like), and multiple pictures of Suzette beneath the arm of a towering and smiling Brad. She laughed as they watched the video over and over. She even got up so they could share a tender dance or two.

And then that night, Big M slipped away.

In his grief, Brad started running. He had always been athletic, and when he and his mother watched the New York City Marathon the year before, they agreed that it was inspiring.

On his long loops through the streets, Brad started thinking about running the marathon in his mother's memory. One thing led to another. Brad founded the nonprofit Thumbs Up Foundation (named for his mother's frequent picture pose, grinning and thumbs up) to raise awareness about ALS, and to raise money for research, caregiving and scholarships. He has printed up T-shirts that include the foundation's name and a picture of himself and Big M.

When he trains, he has a routine: He puts on one of the foundation T-shirts, along with a bracelet his mother always wore. He sprays a little of her favorite perfume on the shirt, and he takes off. Today, he plans to be back in Connecticut to get a blade of grass, a rock, something from his mother's grave at Fairview Cemetery. He'll carry that with him as a talisman.

He can't outrun grief, but next Sunday, he will be on the line with the thousands of other runners. The marathon is grueling, but Brad figures he'll be running with Big M, standing there with her thumbs up, cheering him on.

Susan Campbell is at scampbell@courant.com or 860-241-6454. For more information on the Thumbs Up Foundation, visit www.thumbsupfoundation.com.

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