Miles with Meaning: A Mother’s Journey Toward Healing and Hope

When substance use disorder (SUD) touches a family, the journey is often one of quiet strength, unseen challenges, and unwavering love. In this special Q&A, we sat with Cathy Gill, a mother, marathoner, and advocate, just a day before the 2025 New York City Marathon.

After losing her daughter Courtney, Cathy found purpose in honoring her memory and helping others by working with Shatterproof to bring awareness to SUD stigma. Her story reminds us that no family is alone, and there is a path forward rooted in connection, courage, and community.

 

 

Shatterproof:

Cathy, could you start by introducing yourself, where you're from, and a little bit about your family?

Cathy:

I'm Cathy Gill and I'm from Lexington, Massachusetts, married to Mark Tully. And between the two of us, we have six children, including my daughter, Courtney, [who is the reason we're here today and whom I plan to talk more about]. We also have two Portuguese Water Dogs, Rosie and Poppy, who make life fun!

Shatterproof:

Speaking of Courtney, could you share a bit about her and what brought you to Shatterproof?

Cathy:

Sure. I'm not sure I can do her justice. Courtney was my firstborn child. She's the person who made me a mother, an incredible human being. [She was] very fierce in what she believed in, competitive, loyal — all sorts of wonderful attributes that you'd want to see in your child. She was athletic, she played youth soccer, but her true passion was skating. She was a competitive pair skater in her time and very proud of that fact and a leader in our family. She was the firstborn of four children. Her brother Danny followed, and then her brother Matt, who she always had a soft spot for, and her younger sister, Sarah. And we just love the fact that we had the two girls and the two boys and this wonderful family.

Shatterproof:

Not only are you running the New York City Marathon tomorrow, but you're also running seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. What inspired you to take all that on?

Cathy:

It's a question that I've been asked repeatedly now. I've run seven marathons on seven continents. I haven't run seven marathons in seven days on seven continents. I am someone who likes to set goals and be challenged.  It was a challenge that I thought I could take on and wanted to take on, so I signed myself up.

Shatterproof:

What made you want to support Shatterproof and partner with us on this race?

Cathy:

[Shatterproof is] an organization that's working so hard to de-stigmatize substance use disorder and addiction. And for me, that was one of the things our family struggled with. We wanted to share what we were dealing with as a family, but it’s not always accepted from a cultural standpoint. And what we found is when you start to talk about substance use disorder and addiction...the better we're all going to be in the end.

So, why Shatterproof? Because it is an organization that I wish had begun years ago so that [when] my daughter was battling, she would've been in a place where she could talk more freely. I think the dialogue is happening and that we are making tremendous strides because of the work that Shatterproof is doing.

Why run and raise money at the same time? Because it gives meaning to my miles. So, when I was thinking about this challenge of running seven marathons over the course of a week on seven continents (the 7-7-7) I thought how much better to take on that challenge and raise money for an organization that you care about and put your miles to good. Over the course of the week, I will run 183.4 miles — which is a lot of miles. And I'm hoping that my family and friends, and people out there who have been impacted by substance use disorder will want to support my effort, and help give meaning to my miles.

Shatterproof:

Going off of that, if you were to encounter a family that had a loved one with SUD, like Courtney, what would you want them to know?

Cathy:

First of all, it's so common and so many people have been touched by this, and you don't feel that way at the time when you're going through this journey with a loved one. You feel very isolated. And that's in part, again, because of the cultural tendencies, not to talk about it, but we're making progress there. And so my first advice is to try to be honest with what you're dealing with and reach out to your community, your friends, your family, because I think when you start the dialogue, people are there to support you and they want to support you. They just don't know how to support you. It's different than a physical illness on some level - a cancer-related illness or something that - people are more familiar with. So, I would say: be brave, and don't be afraid to share what you're dealing with because people do want to help.

The other thing is making sure you know what resources are available. And I think that's where I struggled as a parent, not knowing where to turn and not knowing where to get the help for my child that I wanted. As a parent you want nothing more than to help your child and to make sure that he or she has the resources and the help they need to navigate SUD. One of the things that Shatterproof is doing is making resources available to people — helping people find the treatment they need. I think that's an important step because you don't know where to turn when you're a parent or a loved one [supporting someone with SUD].

Shatterproof:

Absolutely, thank you for sharing! Do you have anything else that you would just like to add?

Cathy:

One of the other reasons why I'm running for Shatterproof [is because] it has become a way that I honor Courtney's memory. We work hard to honor her memory. We started with the Boston Walk shortly after she died that year. And that's how I became increasingly involved in Shatterproof. So, for me, one of the things that's going to get me across the seven marathons on the seven continents is the memory of my daughter.

When she was in recovery and was doing well with her recovery, I gave her a bracelet that I am actually wearing right now. And it says, “Beautiful girl, you can do hard things”. And ever since Courtney's death, when I go to the starting line of a marathon, I'm wearing this bracelet because it reminds me of how hard it is to be in recovery and how hard she had to work on her sobriety. And it was an everyday thing for her. When I'm on a marathon course and I'm feeling like it's hard, I tell myself, you know what? You just got to dig deep like Courtney did. She had to dig deep in her recovery, and it gets me through the miles. So, running for Shatterproof, raising money for Shatterproof, and remembering how hard my daughter had to work when she was in recovery gets me through the 7-7-7.

 

Cathy’s resilience shines through every step of her 183.4-mile journey, but her mission extends beyond the miles. It’s about breaking stigma, creating dialogue, and ensuring that families with similar experiences don’t have to do it in silence.