What's nice about the Mercedes Marathon, is that you can run as a member of a 5-person relay team. So that's how I ran a "marathon" this weekend. I actually ran the shortest leg! :) I gathered up a group of 5 people from work to run in the race and raise $100 per mile, or $2,620, for the Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs. (I had just started my new job when it was time to sign up. They probably thought I was crazy, asking them to run a marathon and raise that much money!) The Bell Center partners you with a child that attends the school. This year we ran in honor of a little girl, Ellison, who was born at 28 weeks weighing only 15 ounces!! She has made great progress with the therapies she receives at the Bell Center. She's about 20 months old now. She even started crawling a couple of months ago! Our team raised more money this year than ever before! Ellison's family helped us fundraise and they raised over $2000! In total, we raised $4,760. Thanks again if you donated to the Bell Center!
I'm involved with the marathon and The Bell Center as a member of The Service Guild of Birmingham, but since I've joined that organization, I know 3 children and their families who are benefitting from the therapies provided at the Bell Center. It is a wonderful organization!!
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| Ellison working with her therapists at the Bell Center. |
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| Ellison's family and some of our team at the Bell Center Holiday Party. Ellison has one other sister too, but she was at school. |
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| Finishing the race as a team (sans one team member). |
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| Our official time was actually 4:52:14...takes a few minutes for everyone to get across the starting line. |
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| Yay, we finished! |
Here's the story of how the Mercedes Marathon partnered with the Bell Center.
The story behind the Mercedes Marathon and its partnership with the Service Guild and The Bell Center goes back to 1992. That was the year that Paul and Cinna Sotherland welcomed their baby boy into the family and named him Matt. But Matt’s entry into the world was not an easy one.
Born with Down syndrome, Matt also had the heart defect that often accompanies the diagnosis. He required open heart surgery, and the whole idea of their baby boy undergoing such major surgery naturally frightened his parents.
Cinna recalls being at UAB with Paul and baby Matt just before Matt was to have his surgery. The family was standing at one of the big windows at the end of the hallway that looked out over the streets of downtown. Runners, competing in the Vulcan Marathon, were racing by, and Paul – who was a recreational runner but not much of a competitive one – looked down at this tiny son and made one promise. “You pull through this, Matt, and next year, Daddy will run a marathon for you,” he pledged.
Thankfully Matt kept his end of the bargain, so Paul soon began training. Together, father and son faced many challenges: Matt’s challenges came as a part of the Down syndrome diagnosis, and Paul’s challenges came as part of his training to run 26.2 miles in honor of his son. During his training, Paul looked for guidance and motivation – and even good running shoes – from Valerie McLean, the owner of the Trak Shak in Homewood. And Paul did run the Vulcan Marathon the next year. But he didn’t stop there. He has since completed 19 marathons and more half-marathons than he can even remember. But it was really Valerie McLean who took the inspiration from Paul and Matt to even greater heights.
Valerie helped organize a half-marathon to benefit The Early Intervention Program (now The Bell Center), the place where Cinna and Paul brought Matt to receive critical therapies. Over the next five year, the “Freeze Your Half Off” Half-Marathon grew into a first-class event. At that point, Valerie knew it was time to take the event to the next level, and in 2002 she transformed the “Freeze Your Half Off” into the Mercedes Marathon and Half-Marathon. Proceeds from the event are given annually to just two charities that provide services to children, one of which is The Bell Center for Early Intervention Programs.
That same year, The Service Guild organized its first Partner in Training (PIT) group as a means of fundraising for The Bell Center. The program provided experienced coaching for runner and walker who agreed to raise funds for the Center. In its first year, PIT included 45 runners and walkers who raised more than $80,000 for The Bell Center. In 2003 and in 2004, more than 120 participants raised more than $200,000for the Center, allowing the program to add more staff and to serve more children in need of critical early intervention therapies. By 2008, the PIT program had grown to 256 participants, and the money raised by the marathon for The Bell Center was more than $307,000. And in 2009, there were 262 PIT runners, and more than $258,000 was raised for The Bell Center.
And as the Mercedes Marathon has grown, so has Matt. Now, he attends Homewood High School. He is still non-verbal, but he uses sign language and his communication board (also known as a “Go-Talk” board) to communicate. A couple of years back, his PE teacher has even begun working with Matt on walking long distances with a student partner, with the idea he could eventually walk in the race with his family.
It began with one man’s promise to his newborn son many years ago” it has evolved into a phenomenal running event that provides such great promise for the children of The Bell Center every year. And we will be cheering for this year’s runners as we work diligently to keep Paul’s promise alive.
