This story originally aired on May 25, 2019.
Laura Michalek is an auctioneer. She lives in Tacoma and does mostly fundraising work, and she’s been at it for a couple of decades.
But this story is about one of the first times Laura was in the spotlight, and it actually comes way before her auctioneer career.
This all starts in the year 1979. Laura’s in high school in Berwyn, Illinois — just outside Chicago. And she’s running on the cross-country team.
There are a few numbers to pay attention to in this story: 15, Laura's age at the time; 26.2, the number of miles in the Chicago Marathon. And then there's three and one. Listen to the story to hear the importance of those numbers.