Andrew runs the Chicago Marathon and inspires a community

2015 has been a year of sports firsts for me. Earlier in the summer I attended my first Cubs game and this past weekend I observed my first Bank of America Chicago Marathon, well at least part of it. Please note: I said observed, not ran. I don’t think I could walk 26 miles let alone run that far. (Another little secret, and please don’t tell my friends and family who are baseball fans—I found watching the marathon much more exciting than the Cubs game.)

You probably remember that our nephew Andrew Lawton, from New York City, ran in the marathon and raised money for H.O.M.E. 

All of the marathon runners were inspiring. It was amazing to stand on the street and watch this great crowd of runners go past. A few wore crazy costumes, we saw one blind runner and a big group of runners who were in wheelchairs, some had their name or the name of their country on their shirt. It was fun to yell out their name and see the big smile on their face or see them give us a thumbs up.

You may have even heard about the couple who got married during the race. That's a great story. 

I may be biased, but I think that Andrew's story was also one of the great ones from the marathon this year--the way that he brought together a community of people to support not only himself, but hundreds of seniors in Chicago. 

Andrew met a number of our residents in July during a visit and they were excited about his run and fundraising efforts--residents from Pat Crowley House even made most of the signs that helped encourage Andrew on race day. Andrew’s family joined in support as well. His uncle and aunt from Mount Prospect and another uncle and aunt from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and his cousin and his wife from Boston came to town. We saw Andrew at the ten mile mark and again in China Town at the 20 mile mark. 

His fundraising goal was $4,500, but in the end he inspired over 30 people to come together to give more than $5,500 to help low-income seniors in Chicago. What an incredible act of philanthropy!

I hope you know that All of You—Andrew, John Mark, Ken, Ellen, Mark, Janelle, Dan, Lindsay and all of you who donated and supported Andrew are our heroes! The effort you put into supporting Andrew and H.O.M.E. is amazing! Thank you.

Here is what Andrew said today before he flew back to New York:

"During a marathon there is plenty of time to think. I thought of my feet, legs, pace, the cheering fans, the pretty river and buildings and how many miles remained. But I also found motivation thinking of H.O.M.E. and the great and continuing work they do to improve the lives of low-income seniors in this city." 

If you didn’t get around to supporting Andrew, you still can and it will be greatly appreciated.

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Facts about the Chicago Marathon: 

For those of you who were, like me, uninformed about marathons here are some facts:

• Over 45,000 people ran in Chicago yesterday 
• Kenyans swept the 2015 Chicago Marathon titles for the second time in three years as Dickson Chumba won the men’s race in 2:09:25 and Florence Kiplagat claimed the women’s crown in 2:23:23.  
• LukePuskedra was the top American man in fifth place with a personal best of 2:10:24. Deena Kastor was the top American woman as she broke Olympian Colleen De Rueck’s masters record of 2:28:40 with her 2:27:47 run for seventh place.
• Gabe Mirkin, author of "The Sports Medicine Book," asked more than 100 elite runners if they would be willing to take a magic pill that would make them an Olympic champion but would kill them within a year. More than half said yes.
• The Chicago marathon was called the Mayor Daley Marathon in its first two years. Its first running in 1977 got off to a rocky start: Three people were sent to the hospital with powder burns when the starter's cannon misfired.
• In the Chicago Marathon’s 30-year history, the race has seen some of the most record-setting and exciting battles at the finish line. One of the most dramatic endings occurred in 2006, when Kenyan Robert K. Cheruiyot slipped right before breaking the finish tape. Cheruiyot fell on his back and hit his head on the asphalt. But he was lucky enough to slide forward in the fall causing his timing chip to cross the finish line and making him the winner, 5 seconds ahead of the slightly confused runner-up Daniel Njenga. Cheruiyot suffered a concussion, was taken to the hospital and discharged a couple of days later.

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