Team Azalea Charities / Marine Corps Marathon 2009
Marine Corps Marathon Team grows from
12 Members in 2006 to 137 in 2009
Participating in the Marine Corps Marathon with Team Azalea Charities is a lot more than running in a 26.2-mile race. For the runners, it's a chance to combine a passion for running with a dedication to a worthy cause. Before the race ever begins, these athletes put in a lot of preparation time - training, fundraising and organizing the logistics of getting to the starting line on time. For the volunteers at Azalea Charities, there are months of pre-race planning, coordinating details and events, as well as race activities like manning the Health & Fitness Expo booth, welcoming the athletes at a pre-race pasta lunch, cheering the runners and getting together at the post-race tent. It's a lot of work, but when all is over, everyone has a sense of satisfaction and a desire to do an even better job next year.
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Running for US and British Soldiers
This year, Azalea Charities teamed with the British Benevolent Fund America to raise money to support wounded soldiers in both the US and UK. This added an interesting dimension to the race as the Americans welcomed a group of British runners, including Ross Austen, an injured Royal Marine who completed the race in a wheelchair and on crutches.
Norm Albert, Azalea Charities Vice President Special Projects MCM, who heads up Team Azalea Charities, describes what Austen's presence meant to him: "The run was an incredible experience for all the runners I spoke with, and especially for me personally. I was on a 10 min/mile pace until mile 15 when I came up from behind to meet up with our wounded 59 Commando from the British Army, Ross Austen, his Dad, Ashley, and brother, Scott, pushing the wheel chair and one of Ross' fellow Commandos from the 59th. Having run more than 50 marathons and not caring a bit about my finish time, it was an easy, split second decision to stay with Ross for the rest of the run. When he was working his wheelchair, with some assistance from his Dad, I ran out front asking runners nicely to make some space for Ross coming through. The reaction to Ross from all the spectators and fellow runners on the course was nothing less than awesome." "I spent most of the last 11 miles on the course totally choked up and holding back tears listening to the comments people made to Ross. I can't even imagine the impact he had on so many people, to include runners struggling with exhaustion or pain in those last few miles on the course to maintain some sense of forward movement, only to see Ross on his crutches taking one step at a time to finish his quest. I guess I didn't know until afterwards, speaking to his Dad, that he's gone through 17 or 18 surgeries. But I wasn't surprised to learn that after seeing both his legs, one with more scars than I've ever seen above the knee, and the other with half the muscle blown away below the knee. What an incredible young man with more courage and perseverance than I've ever witnessed." |
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