TO THE outside observer, Marleen Alicea and Frances Ferguson already had enough on their plates — within the past two years, they’d each lost a parent and coped with a significant medical issue. Alicea, 48, of Chicago, developed life-threatening complications after knee surgery, and Ferguson, 52, of San Marcos, Calif., went through an eye cancer scare (doctors now think her tumor is benign). But unknown to each other and 2,000 miles apart, they both decided to conquer yet another challenge: their first 5K race. Read the full article on NowU.