Running for a big cause

Contributed Photo. Kelsa Mueller Ader, a 2007 Highlands graduate, will be running in the Flying Pig Marathon in May hoping to raise money for Breast Cancer research.

By G. MICHAEL GRAHAM

Fort Thomas Matters Sports Reporter

Kelsa Mueller Ader ran with competitiveness and intensity in track and cross country at Highlands.

But on May 4 of this year, the 2007 Highlands alum will be running for a bigger cause. That’s running in the Flying Pig Marathon across the river in Cincinnati for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation. Ader hopes to raise $10,000 in the 26-mile, 385-yard race.

Ader wants to honor friends and family members who are taking on or have battled breast cancer. One was her deceased grandmother and mother of former Highlands Head Football Coach Dale Mueller, Mary Jewel Mueller.

Mary Mueller passed away from the disease in 1981 just before Ader or three siblings were born. Ader’s oldest sister and niece are named after Mary Mueller. Maggie Mueller Mason and daughter Meredith have her maiden name as their middle names.

l“(Mary Mueller) was such a strong woman and was loved by everyone around her,” Ader said. “She passed away from breast cancer when she was only 54, but her values have been carried on by my dad and uncle.  Their example is indirectly the example she has set for me.”

Ader won eight state championships in high school. Ader won it three times as a member of the AA 2002, 2003 and 2004 champion cross country teams. Ader also won four titles on the 4x800 relay team and once in the open 800 meter run.

“It is difficult to run a marathon and (Ader) is training in the winter in Manhattan and trying to raise a lot of money while still working at a full time job,” Dale Mueller said. “She has always been a person with a big heart and a lot of determination. She also is an excellent fisherman and specializes in catching bluegill. Of course some of that is just being a wonderful daughter and being nice to her dad.”

Dale Mueller said his mother was his biggest role model. Dale Mueller said his mother wanted to keep working despite the cancer. The biggest problem was she couldn’t climb the stairs so the principal met on the first floor in the morning and pushed her up the stairs. When arriving at home, Dale Mueller said a neighbor pushed Mary Mueller up the stairs to her house.

“I remember when I was in first grade and had a day off school, I went with my mom to her job at the elementary school in Silver Grove,” Dale Mueller said. “(Mary Mueller) had a student who came to school with a bad cut on his foot and my mom took off his bloody sock and washed his foot the same way she would have done if I cut my foot. She was an incredibly kind person. She was also a hard worker. She loved to play too. Growing up she and I would play cards and laugh for hours during weekends or in the summer. She was a lot of fun to be around. My friends would come over to my house to see her as much or more than to see me.”

This will be the first full marathon for Ader. She ran the half marathon in college.

Ader has the full support of her family. Her sister Maggie Mueller Mason is her fundraising coach. Mason used to work for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation and is the president of Charities Guild of Northern Kentucky.

“I also got to plan an event with my sister-in-law Stefanie at Cheers to Art where she works, and a lot of family came,” Ader said. “It’s really been a collaborative effort.”

Ader works for Estee Lauder in New York City. Evelyn Lauder founded the non-profit Breast Cancer Research Foundation in 1993. The organization donates 91 cents of every dollar to help out research efforts of more than 200 scientists in 28 countries.

Ader said the best advice to prevent breast cancer is being proactive and taking regular screenings.

Ader also said there are two ways to donate to her cause. One is visiting her page at http://www.fundraiseforBCRF.org/kelsa_ader or write her a check at 110 East 59th Street, 12^th Floor, New York, NY 10022.