2013 media guide - LA Marathon

CHARITY AND COMMUNITY
CHARITY AND COMMUNITY
The youngest female runner is Aimee Wyatt (Cambria, CA) at 43— which
means that she began running the marathon at age 16!
Of the 185 Legacy competitors, 180 are runners, three are racewalkers and
two are wheelchair competitors.
There are four Legacy Runner couples:
o Charles and Jane Cutting (runners): Hayden, ID
o Ricardo and Laura Castenada (runners): South Gate, CA
o Christa and Russell Sidles (runners): Santa Clarita, CA
o Susan Lahr and Gordon Niva (runners): Laguna Nigel, CA
Blessing of the Shoes
The Cathedral of our Lady of the Angels (555 West Temple Street in Downtown Los
Angeles) will offer the annual Ceremony for the Blessing of the Running Shoes and
Participants. Runners are invited to bring their running shoes and gather with the
Cathedral Clergy on the Upper Cathedral Plaza at 12:00 noon on Saturday, March
16, for this special blessing. All are welcome to attend and join in this special prayer.
Students Run LA
The mission of Students Run LA is to challenge at-­‐risk secondary students to
experience the benefits of goal-­‐setting, character development, adult mentoring
and improved health by providing them with a truly life-­‐changing experience: the
training for, and completion of, the 2013 ASICS LA Marathon. At the beginning of
the school year, students can inquire about joining the program with the SRLA
teacher leader at their school. Only students who are in grades 7-­‐12 are able to
participate. Students train with their teacher leaders after school several times a
week and are entered into community runs once a month.
The program begins each September and starts with a 2-­‐3 mile run, progressing to
5K, 10K, 15K, half marathon and an 18-­‐mile run, intended to safely train and
prepare them to run the marathon. Each year, more than 95% of the students who
start the marathon finish the full 26.2 mile course. In order to participate, the
students are required to obtain parental permission and pass a doctor's physical
clearing them to run. SRLA arranges for a limited number of free physicals which are
generously provided by Kaiser Permanente. One hundred percent of the students’
entry fees are subsidized; more than 3,000 students will be running this year’s race.
Sean Astin: “I run 1 st for myself, I run 2 nd for my family, I #run3rd for you.”
Though he is best known for his roles as Samwise Gamgee in the Lord of the Rings
trilogy and as the title role in Rudy, Sean Astin is also an avid runner; in fact, this will
be his fourth time running the ASICS LA Marathon. Last year, he began a social
media campaign on Twitter called “#run3rd”— he encourages anyone who is
participating in a race to dedicate their run to someone they love, a cause they
believe in or any positive statement with this tag. “It costs nothing, yet can mean
everything for any runner…to make a simple dedication, to say that these steps I am
taking are not mine to own,” he writes. More information on the TEAM #Run3rd
movement is at run3rd.blogspot.com.
Julie Weiss: 52 Marathons In 52 Weeks: The End Of The Road
Last March, Julie Weiss embarked on a mission to run a marathon each week for a
year—52 in total—to raise awareness and funds for pancreatic cancer, which took
her father’s life in 2010. She will be reaching her goal at the ASICS LA Marathon,
and has fundraised over $143,000 to date through www.marathongoddess.com. “I
wanted to make sure that my final marathon for this year would be my favorite
race, the ASICS LA Marathon,” says Weiss. “Who wouldn’t want to run the best
marathon in the world?”
Christian Alvarado: He’s Blind—And Running His 12 th Marathon
By the time Christian Alvarado was in high school, he had lost almost all of his vision
to optic atrophy and was declared legally blind. In 2005, he heard about the ASICS
LA Marathon and began to train for the race, assisted by a running partner to guide
him through to the finish line. He now has 11 marathons under his belt and is
running the 2013 race on behalf of the Fulfillment Fund, a charity that provides
guidance students in low-­‐performing LAUSD high schools towards finishing their
diplomas and entering college. “I want to demonstrate to the Latino and to the
disability community that anything is possible with motivation,” he says.
Larry Rosenblatt: Three Marathons In Six Weeks For Superstorm Sandy Victims
Larry Rosenblatt lives in one of the areas in New Jersey that was hardest hit by
Superstorm Sandy last fall. The veteran runner is teaming with his company,
Synchronoss Technologies, to raise $10,000 for the four children of Richard and
Elizabeth Everett, who were killed during the storm. Over the next six weeks, he is
running three marathons across the country; his first stop is the 2013 ASICS LA
Marathon. Synchronoss will match all donations up to $5,000 on their giving site,
everettfamilyfund.synchronoss.com. “This is a direct way to help the folks who
were hurt by the storm—and I think anyone who’s a parent or a child can relate to
the Everett family’s story,” says Larry.
Ji Wallace: Silver Medalist Supports Angelenos Who Are Also Affected By HIV/AIDS
Ji Wallace is world champion trampoline gymnast and won the silver medal for
Australia at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney. He was recently diagnosed with
HIV and was crushed by the diagnosis, until he heard another HIV-­‐positive athlete
talk about how he didn't allow the disease to control his life. Now Ji is on a mission
to make a difference in the lives of people living with HIV/AIDS around the world.
His first step is to run this March with Team to End AIDS (T2), an official charity
partner of the ASICS LA Marathon, and aims to raise $12,000 for services for people
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MEDIA GUIDE
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