Former Lady Monarch and siblings run for their dad

Kelly and her siblings 

If you remember the background of Old Dominion graduate Kelly Bradley, you might know she played five sports at Salem High School in Virginia Beach, excelling at all of them.

But Bradley didn't enjoy running. That was then.

Today the former Lady Monarch, who was part of the ODU team that advanced to the national title game in 1997, is preparing to run Sunday's Marine Corps Marathon that winds through Northern Virginia and Washington. Last weekend the four Bradleys -- Kelly, sisters Colleen and Brigitte, and brother Kenneth -- ran the Ten-Miler, also in D.C..

The running is a tribute to their father, Ken Bradley, who competed in 10 marathons, starting with his first, the Marine Corps., in 1975, the year Kelly was born. Ken Bradley died on March 26, 2001, while jogging laps with the girls soccer team he coached at Green Run High. He was 51 and is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.

During the Ten-Miler, Kelly said, "It's like our dad was with us the entire time. We all waved as we ran by the cemetery."

Her brother, Ken, has already completed every marathon her dad ever ran in. Like her father, Kelly is a teacher in Virginia Beach and a doting mom to her kindergartner, Connor.

"We were all athletes," Kelly said, "but we all hated to run. Now it's a way to remember and be with him."

Fitting that Sunday's race winds down near Arlington Cemetery, concluding at the Marine Corps War Memorial. All of the Bradleys will be in our thoughts during their 26.2 miles.