Sean’s Run and the Marathon Project
by Bob Kopac
What happens when two great programs meet? Answer: A WIN-WIN! In capital letters! That’s what happens when the Marathon Project meets Sean’s Run. The Marathon Project, whose motto is “Empowering Youth through Running”, is sponsored by the Council on Addiction Prevention and Education of Dutchess County, Inc. (CAPE/DC). It is an after-school distance running program to prepare youth to run a full or half marathon. The program’s main goal is to reduce risk factors such as childhood obesity, gangs, dropping out of school, smoking, drinking, substance abuse and Britney Spears. (That last one is not one of the goals listed on the www.capedc.org web site, but one can always hope.)
The program matches adult mentors with Hudson Valley youth in the Poughkeepsie, Beacon, Newburgh, and Webutuck school districts, as well as the Children’s Home of Poughkeepsie and the Dutchess County Department of Probation. The Marathon Project provides opportunities for students to accomplish goals, develop character, improve health, and provide youths with positive adult role models through mentoring. MP kids participate in Mid-Hudson Road Runners Club (MHRRC) races. However, there is one big exception: the Marathon Project kids travel north to Chatham, NY to do Sean’s Run.
The purpose of this 5K is to raise teen awareness of the dangers of underage drinking and the need to wear seat belts. As the www.seansrun.com web site says, “Sean’s Run is more than a run/walk – it’s a community’s response to tragedy, a deadly underage drunk driving car crash on January 1, 2002 that claimed the life of high school honor roll student, community volunteer and running standout Sean Patrick French and permanently altered the life of his buddy Ian Moore. Both juniors, they were passengers in a car driven by an intoxicated schoolmate. They were both unbuckled.”
The money raised at Sean’s run is used for programs to combat underage drinking, impaired driving and teens’ lax use of seatbelts. The funds also support scholarships for deserving senior high school students.
Besides the 5K, there is the Meghan’s Mile community walk and kid’s race. But wait, there’s more! Before the running and walking events is the World Championship Battle of the Belts. Four-person high school and middle school youth teams battle to see who can buckle up the fastest by running around a car until each team member buckles up in all four seats. The purpose of the contest is to provide a fun way to raise teen awareness about the importance of seat belt use. It also provides a thrilling pre-race spectacle for the runners and walkers.
The Marathon Project kids attended the 2009 Sean’s Run and Battle of the Belts. They came away excited by both events and eager to participate again in 2010. Several youths at the year-end Marathon Project wrap-up party said it was their favorite race.
Sean’s Run is always the last Sunday in April. This year the event is April 25, 2010 at Chatham High School, Village of Chatham, Columbia County, NY. Come participate in the 5K run or 1-mile walk and cheer on the Marathon Project kids in the Battle of the Belts.