You Can Do Anything for 20 Seconds: Remembering ADF

At Rêve, each time we walk into the studio, everyone is an athlete. Through each class, we raise each other up, as individual efforts combine to create an electric, collective energy. Our instructors challenge us to meet and blow past our predetermined limits. In order to do this, however, we must take each challenge as it arises. Pedal stroke by pedal stroke. Arm press by arm press. This week, Rêve honors the life of a woman who challenged so many people to break down the big things into manageable increments: Amy DiAdamo Foster. Rêve rider--and social media manager--Bernadette Doykos spoke with us about Amy's life and her guiding motto: "Break it down: You can do anything for 20 seconds."

There isn’t a life in which I don’t remember being in total awe of Amy. The daughter of my parents’ best friends, she was everything I wanted to be: an idol like you see in the movies. Megawatt smile, star athlete, you name it. She was seven years older than I, and even though I grew way taller than she was at a pretty early age, she was a giant.  

As we got older, our paths crossed less frequently, but an admiration like that doesn’t disappear. When she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer a few years ago, it felt like it couldn’t be real. Giants don’t get sick, not like this. Unsurprisingly, she battled so hard, with such grace and such power. She lived every moment of her life up until the very end, spending her last months running races, drinking good wine, and trekking through France and Italy with her husband and three young boys. She channeled the same grit that made her so successful on every field she ever touched.

You see, Amy was one of the scrappiest, most committed athletes I have ever seen. Some of my earliest memories include her running up and down the one mile of beach by my parents’ house for far longer than my attention span could hold. She played soccer and lacrosse at Middlebury, where no one could keep up with her. However, beyond her individual efforts, Amy inspired those around her to be better, to expect more from themselves. She led Middlebury Lacrosse to its first NCAA championship, leaving a legacy that secured her induction to the Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015.

As she accepted the honor in the middle of her battle with cancer, Amy gave a speech I reflect on frequently. She reminded the audience that the same motto which secured the championship ring guided her through the health challenges she faced: “You can do anything for 20 seconds.” Since watching that the first time, I channel this frequently in many spaces. I had it written over my desk, as, after many years of fits and starts, I was able to finish my dissertation. At Rêve, whether in the midst of Savannah’s epic hills or Joanna’s two songs of arms, I repeat this to myself more times than I can count.  

Amy lost her battle with cancer on September 14th, 2016. Thus, we honor her life and her spirit this week with an extra special ride on Wednesday at 6:00 pm, led by Joanna. All proceeds will benefit the Amy DiAdamo Foster Foundation, which sponsors both avant garde cancer research and land preservation efforts.

We lost a great one last year, but I will never stop looking up to her.