LIVING BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE

Tracy Repchuk

I am honored to be asked to provide the Foreword for LIVING BEYOND IMPOSSIBLE ~ the Terry Hitchcock Story because I love written inspirational stories that are shared.

Every one of us has experienced hardship, endured pain, and overcome obstacles; yet, those experiences define our character and help us to transform into the person we need to be to fulfill our individual missions and primary purposes.

As a woman of accomplishment and a global thought leader in the worlds of online marketing, international speaking, philanthropy, and business consultation, teaching clients how to reach millions with their messages, I was intrigued to learn more about what made Terry Hitchcock do what he did. Here was a businessman, also a husband, a father, and a widower, who literally took on the “impossible” task of running the distance of 75 marathons in 75 consecutive days because he felt a need to help single-parent households and their children. Reading this biography, I discovered why Terry gave back: to satisfy the primal spiritual need that we all feel, to help. And he did so in an extraordinary way at high personal risk.

Like many others, his hardships were frequent. He suffered a broken home, broken childhood, his parents’ divorce and his subsequent kidnapping, and a whirlwind of wannabe fathers, leading to a growing uncertainty at an early age about how he was going to survive. Understandably he needed an outlet for his anger—a way to deal with his overwhelming urges to retaliate—when he turned to gang membership as a substitute for family.

Later, as an adult, imagine his finally getting a family of his own only to have the unthinkable happen: the deaths of two spouses.

As a mother of three children, blessed to be married over 25 years to my best friend, business partner, and soul mate, before I read this biography I could not have comprehended entirely what it must feel like to lose not only one spouse but two in the prime of my life to the same disease (cancer). To also lose my job and my identity in the workplace and to have to learn a whole new profession while coping to feed, shelter and clothe three small children single-handedly … seemed unfathomable. Which is why it was no surprise to read that Terry emerged from all that depressed, broken and feeling ashamed.

But, what Terry did with those emotions demonstrates how a man, or woman, can gather faith from life’s lessons, reach out to God, and decide to live beyond the impossible. Disagreeing with his circumstances and with what logic demanded of him, he kept his children under one roof, choosing accomplishment over failure not only as a promise to the mother of his offspring but also to himself, his kids, friends, business associates, and just about everyone whose paths he crossed.

Reading Terry Hitchcock’s life story, I learned how tragedy and responsibility spring-boarded his purely spiritual determination to show others that anyone can go beyond the ordinary and bring off extraordinary feats of strength, endurance, and courage in the face of extreme hardships.

Kule’s story is the account of one ordinary man who uplifted not only me but also tens of thousands of other people, perhaps millions. Because he handled each challenge to a winning end, I discovered that I, too, might do the same no matter what I face. It’s in the knowledge of these kinds of stories that we feel hope—in Terry’s case from the way he put a spotlight on the widespread problem of single parenting and its effect upon children. He brought attention to it in a way few will ever match: Honestly, who at 57 runs over 2,000 miles in 75 days after having a heart attack?

I’m so excited for your having an opportunity to read this book and to take the journey with Terry. I gladly share my appreciation and gratefulness that I did because I know that it will uplift, inspire, and change you, too.

Tracy Repchuk*

International Speaker, Bestselling Author, and Global Thought Leader