MARCH 9, 2014
CHARITIES FROM PAGE 58 coalition to make Los Angeles a no-kill pound system by 2017. Putting the organization in front of thousands of people who might otherwise not consider pit bulls beyond their fearsome reputation means reaching a new audience of potential adopters and donors, Purcell said. “It’s great to have people see dogs as just dogs,” Purcell said. A full one-third of the Dr. Susan Love Research Foundation staff will be running the marathon in support of its founder and namesake who is celebrating her improving health with a marathon. It’s the first time that the organization has participated in the event, but it seems like the perfect foil for the group, said Shirley Horn, director of communications and marketing for the charity. “We’re talking to people who care about being healthy and staying healthy, and who active-
ly maintain their own health,” Horn said. Those not directly involved will be stationed at the ninth and 23rd miles to give support to their compatriots. And that’s the thing: Not everyone can or will be able to run a marathon. Charities give people a way to participate, whether or not they feel capable of strapping on their running shoes and going for 26.2 miles. “Our mission is to bring the community together. Our goal is to have everyone involved in the marathon somehow, whether to run, to cheer or to volunteer,” Sanchez said. “It’s great to get everyone involved to bring the community together and rally around something bigger than themselves, in a sense.” Charities and the marathon enjoy a symbiotic relationship — the race gets runners, some of whom can only participate through a charity after the event sells out, and many of the organizations with teams in the 2014 event have participated in the past and see the marathon
2014 ASICS LA MARATHON
as a solid way to connect with donors as well as future beneficiaries. Runners put everything on the line when they decide to devote six months of their lives to marathon training. It’s the kind of dedication that spreads the message not just to repeat donors, but to the runners’ family and friends, said Julie Helmes, events coordinator with Painted Turtle, a group which puts on summer camps for children with major medical conditions. “Events like the ASICS LA Marathon and LA Big 5K create a ripple effect that allow us to connect with our supporters on a deeper level by spreading awareness to their network through peer-to-peer fundraising,” Helmes said. Activities Recreation & Care (ARC), which works to improve the quality of life for people with developmental disabilities, began running with the ASICS LA Marathon over a decade ago when Rafael Adame, a client who suffered a brain injury at birth, decided to run the full race in
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2003. ARC had gone to the shorter 5K race in the past, and brought a bell choir to the full event, but no one had yet attempted the 26.2 mile course. “I thought he was kidding,” said Jennifer Davis, day program coordinator with ARC. “I said, ‘Yeah, sure we’ll do that.’” Little did she know what she was signing up for. Davis would go on to run not one marathon, but 11. She even took on larger challenges, like two 100-mile races. When it comes to marathons, ARC clients have a monopoly — Antoinette Mendoza became the first woman with Down syndrome to complete a marathon, a record which occurred in Los Angeles, and Jimmy Jenson was interviewed on the Today Show after becoming the first person with the syndrome to complete the New York City Marathon. Their efforts bring awareness and funds, but they also spread the message that a person’s life is not over after diagnosis, similar to runners like Lacey Wood, a two-time organ recipient competing with the OneLegacy Foundation, which supports tissue and organ donation and transplant research in the greater Los Angeles area. She will be running in honor of James, the man whose heart she now relies upon, and her marathon relay partner and brother Tyson, who donated a kidney to her. “The ASICS LA Marathon is an athletic event that allows us to show that both transplant recipients and living kidney donors can live very healthy lives, a feat only possible by advances in medicine and the generosity of donors,” said Jennifer Walker, director of development with the foundation.