Girl with leukemia running Hot Chocolate 5K to support charity

CHICAGO (WLS) -- On Sunday, 40,000 runners will hit be racing across Chicago in the annual Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K. It's the kind of race where hot chocolate is awaiting runners at the finish line.

In addition to all the fun, the race has a serious mission of helping raise money for Ronald McDonald House Charities. One Chicago area family will be racing with the goal of giving back.

Bryn Schneider is 13 and training to run with her family in her first 5K. She hasn't run much lately, though. Her routine now revolves around hospital visits and chemotherapy

"I kind of dread some of them more than others, afterwards I either have a terrible headache or get really nauseous," Bryn said.

It was February of this year when Bryn was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia, with no warning signs or family history.

"Healthy kid, athletic, figure skater on a competitive team. We traveled across the country. Then Bryn started having headaches," her mom Shana Weiss said.

Those headaches lasted three weeks.

"The second time we went to the doctor, he did some test, called me the next day and said it's leukemia," Weiss said.

Treatment for Bryn began right away. She told me that first clinic visit was pretty scary.

"We had 6 syringes all lined up at the table. I remember looking at that being really nervous," Bryn said.

But what the family also wants to share is the unexpected help they found with the Ronald McDonald House. It's a home away from home for families facing a medical crisis so they can stay close to the hospital, at little or no cost.

"The resource they offer families is invaluable," Weiss said.

"It's just really comforting to be there," Bryn said.

So this weekend, they will run in the Hot Chocolate Race which benefits Ronald McDonald House Charities. Bryn may be too tired to finish. If so, her sister will be right there, pulling a wagon just in case.

"I'll pull it when it's empty and pull her when she's in it so we can finish together," her sister, Chloe Schneider, said.

Bryn is responding well to the treatments. If all goes well, she should be done with treatments in about two years.

Since 2008, Hot Chocolate races across the country have raised over a million dollars to support Ronald McDonald House Charities.

There is still time to sign up for Chicago's Hot Chocolate 15K and 5K. It steps off Sunday morning at 7:30 in Grant Park.

For more information and to register, click here: https://www.hotchocolate15k.com/chicago