Family Separated at Birth Meets for First Time at Detroit Marathon - Runner's World

David and Brian Oelberg’s mother, Barbara Oelberg, knew she was adopted from a young age, but she didn’t know what, or if, other genetically related family might be out there.

For just as long, Alissa Briggs and her father, Clark Briggs, had no idea there might be some other family member out in the world, let alone living across the border in Canada. (The Oelbergs lived in Ottowa, Canada while the Briggses lived in Lexington, Kentucky.)

It wasn’t until 2017 when a family friend of the Oelbergs, who had taken up an interest in genealogy, used birth and death records to trace their ancestral heritage. Upon discovering the Briggs-Oelberg connection, the Oelberg siblings did some investigative work to track down their mother’s long-lost brother, Clark Briggs. They reached out by email, and though the initial message was met with some skepticism—the Oelbergs were able to demonstrate through the obtained records that Barbara was, in fact, Clark’s sister.

The family began exchanging emails and phone calls, and they quickly learned that they had numerous similar interests, including running amongst the cousins. For their first official reunion, they set their sights on the Detroit Marathon on October 20, 2019.

Realizing they all shared a love of running and that the marathon route crosses from the U.S. into Canada, a marathon that blended the two families—and their homes—made perfect sense.

The family members began planning for the race in October 2018 and registered—David and Alissa for the marathon and Brian for the half—as soon as they could in anticipation of their first face-to-face meeting.

During training, Alissa, 36, and David, 56, discovered they had a similar training schedule and a similar pace. Through Strava, Alissa and David, who now lives in Lenox, Massachusetts, would encourage each other and stay in touch. Their Strava training even allowed them to start in the same corral on race day.

“It was amazing and warm feeling to get together with your family you’ve been talking with but not met all this time,” Alissa told Runner’s World.

And though Brian was running the half marathon rather than the full, he was happy his whole family could get together for the first time when race day finally arrived.

“Not only was it really nice for all the family to meet each other, it was especially nice for my mother, who had never met anyone from her natural family before,” he told Runner’s World. “Now that she has discovered she has a brother, she is so excited about it.”

Not to be left out, Barbara and Clark also made the trip so they could be there to meet everyone together and cheer on their kids.

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“It was a special experience to get to know my family and share in something we enjoy in such a symbolic way,” Alissa said. “Barbara and Clark made the trip so that we could all be together, and it was incredible.”

On race day, David was originally planning to race alone and go a little faster than his cousin. Instead, the night before he and Alissa agreed to run together—he slowed his pace so they could make up for lost time.

And, in running together they discovered many similarities like that all three cousins ended up in medical professions—Alissa is a psychologist, Brian is a therapist, and David is a physician.

“I have a daughter and Brian has a son and daughter, and we talked about raising kids and balancing that with running,” Alissa said. “We also talked about how we want to pass on the joy of running to our kids without making them feel pressure.”

The chatting also helped them keep their steady pace.

“Running together for four hours, we really had a connection,” David told Runner’s World. “The marathon went by so fast. Before we knew it, we were at mile 15.”

Alissa and David cross the finish line of the Detroit Marathon together.

Alissa Briggs

Late in the race, David looked at the clock and noticed they were slightly behind their sub-4-hour goal. To make sure they put their training to good use, they picked up the pace, and it paid off as they crossed line in 3:58:47. Brian finished the half marathon in 2:37:14.

“It was such a special experience,” Alissa said. “I have so much gratitude for David’s support throughout the marathon. It wouldn’t have gone so quickly without him.”

Next year, the family plans to get together again for the Philadelphia Marathon in November, and by using Strava, they plan to continue virtually training together.

“We left with hearts full of love, and our love for running is a bridge that helped bring our families together,” Alissa said. “Although my grandmother passed away 18 years ago, we feel that she would be proud of what we achieved together and happy that we are reunited.”

Jordan Smith Digital Editor Her love of all things outdoors came from growing up in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and her passion for running was sparked by local elementary school cross-country meets.

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Family Separated at Birth Meets for First Time at Detroit Marathon - Runner's World
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