2012 Williams Route 66 Marathon
Runner Story Ideas/Angles
For specifics on any of the story ideas below (or for additional or varying angles) including contact information,
Contact:
Ashley Fuller, (918) 740-9415,
Kristin Ware, (918) 527-0617,
Out-of-state runners:
-Anders Forselius is a Swedish runner, blogger and writer for Runner’s World Sweden who is traveling with the ashes of a young boy who died at age 12 and is fulfilling the boy’s final wish to have his ashes spread across the world. Anders says the 2012 Route 66 race the boy’s 65th marathon and Forselius’ 90th.He plans for this to be his 50th race of the year and the last before he returns to Sweden. To read Anders’ blog, visit: (it is in Swedish, but click the “Translate”button at the top of the Google toolbar for the English version.)
-Eitan Hermon is a marathon runner and former Israeli soldier wounded in 2006 during the Second Lebanon War when his tank was hit by a road side bomb. Prior to being injured, Eitan was a competitive runner and he vowed as he was being carried away on a stretcher that he would run another marathon. He wears a prosthetic leg below the knee and currently holds one of the fastest marathon times in the world for athletes in this class. He is in Tulsa as a guest of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa through the generous support of the Anne and Henry Zarrow Foundation. Hermon is one of several Israeli runners over the last three years to visit Tulsa and participate in the Williams Route 66 Marathon.To view Eitan’s blog, please visit:
-Paul Arroyo is a runner from NY, NY and is running his 44th marathon since January 2011. He runs in honor of his daughter, Gabrielle, age 6, who is autistic. He started running years ago as a way to stop smoking and lose weight. His daughter was diagnosed with autism at two years of age and he started running to raise money and awareness for autism at that time. He had planned to run the NYC marathon this year as well as a marathon in GA, but was not able to do so because of Superstorm Sandy. He and his family live in Manhattan and have experienced both Sandy and the recent nor’easter in the last two weeks, but Paul will be in Tulsa for the race.
- members of the Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics and 50 States Marathon Club will all convene on Route 66 this year, along with hundreds of members of their clubs, attracting tourism dollars to Tulsa.
Local/state runners:
- Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard is running the Williams Route 66 half marathon to improve his fitness and set an example for students and the Tulsa school district.
- Rogene (Ronnie) Ashford is a 62-year-old Tulsa woman who started walking in 2011. She will attempt her first sanctioned race ever by walking the Williams Route 66 Marathon. She’s calling herself a “flashlight finisher” because she will finish after dark and after the finish line has officially closed. Regardless, she’s determined to finish, no matter how long it takes or whether she receives a medal or not.
- Judith Branum, age 34 from Broken Arrow, has suffered from epilepsy and asthma in her young life, and has even undergone brain surgery. Surgery cured the seizures, and she’s learned to regulate her breathing through running. She’s running the marathon, and is an inspiration for those that think they “can’t.” We have multiple stories of those who have overcome disease to go on and finish a marathon or half marathon.
-Mason Harvey is a 13-year-old Guthrie resident who has lost 85 pounds in the last year after being severely obese as a child and enduring years of bullying at school. His story of motivation and will power to get off the couch, get active and lose the weight is so impressive that it earned him a trip to Washington D. C. to meet First Lady Michelle Obama last April. Mason’s website Strivefor85.com encourages people to do what he’s done to get healthy. Strivefor85 is Mason’s way of “paying it forward” to get those around him to make healthier choices. Mason will be running the 2012 Route 66 5K.
- many local runners are members of the Marathon Maniacs, Half Fanatics and 50 States Marathon Club, which are groups of runners who run multiple marathons per year or try to run in each state. If you want to know why a runner would want to run a half marathon or marathon per month, these are your interviewees.
- the Williams Route 66 Marathon has become a tradition for many Tulsans including those who ran their first marathon with the Route 66 Marathon six years ago and have since gone on to run marathons in other cities, but clear their calendar for their favorite local race every year.
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