The fifth annual Avon Walk for Breast Cancer in Los Angeles, CA, held September 15th through September 16th, raised $4.3 million. Funds raised will help to find a cure for breast cancer. There were more than 1,900 participants in this year’s event.

Participants had the option of walking a marathon or a marathon and a half (39.3 miles) over the weekend event. The event began Saturday, September 15th in the morning at Queen Mary Events Park in Long Beach, CA with an opening ceremony.

After the first day of walking, participants spent the night in two-person tents in the “Wellness Village” created by the Avon Walk at El Dorado East Regional Park in Long Beach, CA. They enjoyed live entertainment and dinner. On Sunday the participants completed  a half marathon’s journey and ended the day at the Queen Mary Events Park. Thousands of cheering family and friends greeted them for a inspiring closing ceremony.

At the closing ceremony, Avon Foundation Executive Director Ms. Carol Kurzig stated that five initial grants will be awarded. These grants will advance access to care and also help to find a cure for breast cancer. The initial grants were awarded to: UCLA Jonsson Cancer Center Foundation (Los Angeles, CA) for $1,168,137; John Wayne Cancer Institute and the Center for Healthy Aging (Santa Monica, CA) for $275,00; Council of Community Clinics (San Diego, CA) for $250,000; Clinica Msr. Oscar A. Romero (Los Angeles, CA) for $180,000; and Project Angel Food (Los Angeles, CA) for $100,000.

Source: PRNewswire

Team Heal Trauma has nine runners who are raising funds for programs for trauma survivors. They are running in the Marine Corps Marathon on October 28th of this year. Their goal is to raise $10,000 for trauma education and advocacy. The team has runners from Virginia, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey and Tennessee. Runners must raise a minimum of $500.

Helga West started Team Heal Trauma. She is the founder of Witness Justice, a non-profit organization which offers support and advoacy for violence and trauma survivors located in Frederick, MD. West was assulted in 1993 and left nearly paralyzed. She survived an attack while in a rental care close to Miami International Airport. She and her mother took a vacation to Florida and on the way to the airport she made a wrong turn and was approached by assailants. She was assaulted as her mother watched. She was a runner before her attack. She has run two marathons since then, the Marine Corps Marathon and the Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon held in San Diego, California.

“So much of the work we do is pretty serious,” West said. “Everything about the formation of the run has been so uplifting and so inspirational. It’s incredible how motivated people are and how committed they are.”

Source: The Fredrick News-Post Online

The State-to-State Half Marathon will be held on Sunday, September 16th in Ohio and Indiana. The race begins in Uptown Oxford, Ohio and follows Contreras Road into Indiana. It then loops back into Oxford, Ohio.

The half marathon offers many opportunities for runners for different distances: from a half-marathon, a 5K run/walk, a kids 1K “fun run” and a toddler/preschool dash. The event anticipates 1,400 runners for this year’s event. 900 runners have registered so far. The race began five years ago, in 2003 with 800 runners. To celebrate the race’s fifth year prizes will be given to the top runners, and also to those who have participated each year in the event.

Cash prizes totalling $4,600 will be given to the top three runners in the men’s and women’s brackets for the 5K and half-marathon run. Fifth-year runners will be given a copy of “C.C. Pyle’s Amazing Footrace” by Geoff Williams. Williams’ story is an actual account of a coast-to-coast run across the U.S.A. in 1928. The first 850 runners will get free T-shirts from New Balance.

Last year’s event raised $13,000 for Butler County charities and this year’s event is anticipated to raise at least that amount for charity. This year funds will be donated to the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team In Training - Southern Ohio Chapter and other local charities. The State-to-State Marathon is completely run by volunteers.

Sources: The Oxford Press, State-to-State.org

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon is in its 30th year. The marathon will take place on Sunday, October 7th. 45,000 participants are anticipated to run in this year’s marathon. They have created a newly-designed site to meet the needs of their runners.

The website was originally designed to serve registration of 45,00 entries en mass. It was also designed to serve as a communications tool to give specifics about the event.

The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon decided to take the opportunity to raise the bar of the industry and develop a site that would not only further engage its audience, but reach out to non-runners alike with an opportunity to dial into the never-ending energy the Marathon generates, said Shawn Platt, LaSalle Bank’s Senior Vice President and Director of Brand Management and Sports Marketing

With the event approximately five weeks away, they are anticipating high-traffic at their site. The website has many new highlights:

There is imagery from the past 30 years of the marathon’s history. There is also information about training, preparation and actual race day.

Inspiration Bank offers visitors the opportunity to share their motivation, stories and tips through online diaries, runner essays, photo galleries, polls and top ten lists. In alliance with the emotional feel of the new design, the Inspiration Bank is another manner in which all involved runners, spectators and supporters have the ability to connect with the global Marathon community. Includes a variety of features such as a countdown clock, runner tracking, podcasts, online polling and video galleries.

The LaSalle Chicago Marathon has raised more than $27.5 million for numerous charities, including $9.3 in accordance with the 2006 alone.

Source: Runner’s Web and Triathlete’s Web

This year the organizers of the Denver Marathon have created an opportunity for runners to run with a favorite celebrity while helping those in need. The Denver Marathon Celebrity Inspiration Run will take place on a two-mile relay on the marathon course. The marathon occurs on Sunday, October 14th and the course runs through Denver, Colorado.

“With the Denver Marathon Celebrity Inspiration Run, the goal is to encourage everyday people to find the inspiration to run with someone they admire while benefiting a worthy charity,” race director Anton Villatoro said in a prepared statement.

Source: cbs4denver.com

The auction will be held online at the Denver Marathon website. It begins on September 28th and runs through October 7th. Funds raised will benefit the charity chosen by the celebrity. The runner will be invited to a motivational dinner the evening before the Denver Marathon.

Celebrities participating include: former Bronco Bill Romanowsk, CBS4 sportscaster Vic Lombardi, Scott Elrod of the TV drama “Men in Trees,” and Miss Colorado 2007 Maggie Ireland.

TeamAutism.org is a new organization with the mission “to benefit local individuals and families affected by autism in the Oklahoma City area. The goal of Team Autism is to increase funding to support the Edmond Family Center for Autism while promoting fitness and healthy lifestyles.”  Edmond Family Center for Autism is a partner organization of TeamAutism.org. TeamAutism.org is located in Oklahoma City, OK and the Edmond Family Center for Autism is located in Edmond, OK, with a support group at the Edmond Library.

TeamAutism.org trains first-time walkers or runners for marathon events. Each walker or runner trains in honor of a local person with autism. TeamAutism.org was started by Alan and Stacey Danielson. The Danielson’s son was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome in 2005.

Stacey ran a marathon with the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Team in Training program 9 years ago. The program helped her through the training process to run the marathon and also to raise money for leukemia. When Alan searched for an organization to run a marathon and raise money for autism, he discovered that this did not exist. TeamAutism.org was then created by the Danielsons.

The Edmond Family Center for Autism began as an online support group in Edmond called Parents of Autistic Children. But it has grown with the needs of the community. The group hopes to educate, provide support and raise awareness about autism.

TeamAutism.org has put together a team of five runners to participate in the Honolulu (HI) Marathon on December 9, 2007. The runners each need to raise a minimum of five thousand dollars to participate and are still fundraising.

Sources: TeamAutism.org, NewsOK.com

The founder of Housing With Love, Bob Murray, is pleased that this year he will be able to walk the entire route. This year he battled frostbite on his feet during the winter, and his walking training has suffered.

The goal for the walk is to raise $250,000, 15% up from last year’s total. These funds will go to fight homelessness on the Cape. Over 400 walked to walk the route on July 8th. The route begins in Provincetown. The walk completed the following Sunday, July 15th.

The charity helps workers who have trouble because the rents on the Cape are very high. Some workers can run into a difficult situation if they are unable to work for even a short period of time, as this can affect their ability to pay their rent.

The funds raised will be shared with 10 participating agencies.