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Local runner overcomes brain malformation, takes on Thunder Road

By all accounts, Elisa Alfanato shouldn't be running-- but she is.

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- By all accounts, Elisa Alfanato shouldn't be running-- but she is.

"The running is to prove to myself that I am bigger than this condition," says Alfanato.

Her condition? One most people have never heard of. In 2013 she was diagnosed with Chiari Malformation.

"My skull is too small. So, my brain is being crunched. And the bottom-most portion of my brain, which is the cerebellum, get pushed down through the hole in the bottom of the skull and down into the spinal column," explains Alfanato.

She has endured two serious surgeries and there is no known cure. But, even facing such adversity, she's kept a sense of humor about it all.

"There's a funny little saying: too much brain to contain! I've always thought that was kinda funny 'cause I'm pretty smart," she says while laughing.

She's also pretty tough. She is a busy wife, English professor and mother to a special needs teen-aged son.

Alfanato says, "I think that God gave me a whole lot more strength than he gave a lot of people, and that's why I have a big assignment!"

And she seems to thrive on big assignments. She registered to participate in the Thunder Road half marathon on Saturday! Her life-long best friend, Vivian, agreed to run the race with her. They loved running marathons together before Elisa's diagnosis. However, because of her condition, Elisa wasn't certain she'd ever be able to run again.

"I have been in the presence of other people with this condition and they don't even walk," Elisa says, as she prepares to put on her running shoes.

Her husband, Mark, is blown away by her strength.

"She has been through an awful lot in the last couple of years, and to bounce back like this is amazing to me. I could never even run a marathon myself. So, it's quite inspirational," he says through a smile.

As she heads toward that finish line on Saturday with her best friend by her side and her family cheering her on, she will prove to herself-- and others-- that life really is so much fuller and richer when approached with positivity.

"This condition that I have, this assignment that I have raising a special needs child-- I am bigger and stronger. I always like to think of myself as a big strong person. And it means an awful lot to be able to do something like this," says Alfanato.

Elisa successfully completed the half marathon on Saturday and posted her best running time ever!

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