Running the Path to Victory: Lara’s Story
By Kayla White & Elizabeth McCurry
August 29, 2023
One of our favorite things about Camp is sharing all the unique stories that campers, volunteers, staff, and supporters have. In honor of Run to Victory being less than two weeks away, we thought what better time to share a story about someone who has been with Victory Junction for a long time, and who has participated in Run to Victory every year since 2012!
Meet Lara Lockwood, one of our annual participants in our 5k/10k/Fun Run race, known as Run to Victory. Lara first heard about Camp working as a respiratory care physician at formerly Wake Forest Baptist Health around 2004 when Victory Junction was just starting out.
She had seen some of her patients attend Camp and had heard the fun, memorable stories they made. Lara became very interested, and in 2008, she and her husband decided to volunteer for a weekend program. She was especially qualified for the weekend she volunteered for because it was centered around kids who had a ventilator and or any trachea diagnosis.
She enjoyed her time at Camp so much that that was only the beginning. She has volunteered every year since 2008 for a week in the summer and at least two other camp sessions in the year, including family weekends!
Lara loves seeing campers having first time experiences at Victory Junction, like Stage Day, NASCARnival, Mr. Larry’s Bullseye dance in archery, and dancing in the Fuel Stop after dinner. Seeing everyone’s smiling faces at Camp reminds her of why Victory Junction is her favorite camp to volunteer for. She is always an advocate for Camp, because she wants her friends and coworkers to be able to experience the joy and magic she feels here. Not long after she started volunteering, though, Lara knew she wanted to do something more for Victory Junction to help out so that more kids could come to Camp.
“I want my patients… to experience the same feeling I get when I see the hot air balloon water tower at Victory Junction…”
In 2012, when Lara was 57, she began walking and running daily, not only for her personal health, but also for Run to Victory! On October 10, 2012, she participated in her very first Run to Victory race. In 2014, she ran her first half-marathon, and in 2016, she won first place in her age group! Since her first race in 2012, Lara has participated in Run to Victory every year. Even when she was unable to run in person due to COVID-19, she still attended Run to Victory virtually. Her favorite part of Run to Victory is being with her camp family on race day, as well as being able to fundraise for her favorite camp, Victory Junction. Lara races in Run to Victory so she can help keep Victory Junction a place that’s 100% accessible to any child with a complex medical condition, and so she can continue to volunteer and see happiness in every kid who comes to Camp. We love Lara and every other Run to Victory participant!
If you are interested in signing up for Run to Victory, use this link to register: runtovictory.org.
