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Marathon Project Aims to Motivate Area Teens

by Pete Colaizzo, January 25, 2007

There is a new running initiative in town, and I think you should take notice of it. Susanne O'Neil of The Council of Addiction Prevention and Education of Dutchess County (CAPE/DC) has launched a program call the Marathon Project. The local effort is being modeling after the wildly successful Students Run L.A. (SRLA) program in California.

According to the Marathon Project brochure, the SRLA program trained more than 26,000 at-risk teenagers to run in and complete the Los Angeles marathon each March. The key focuses of the program are discipline, perseverance and goal-setting. The results were nothing short of phenomenal, according to the brochure:

  • A total of 97 percent of the students running the marathon finished the 26.2 mile race.
  • A total of 90 percent of the seniors who completed the marathon graduated from high school.
  • A total of 85 percent of those went on to a secondary school after graduation.

According to the brochure: "This program empowers kids. They run to become who they want to be."

And now, O'Neil is bringing a similar program to Poughkeepsie specifically and Dutchess County in general. She is an active member of the local running community, participating in many races throughout the year. She would like to enlist the support of her fellow road running brethren ... folks like you.

Again: this seems to me to be an honorable and worthy project. In this space, I am always harping on the need for local runners to "give back" to the community by volunteering for road races. This is an extension to that sentiment, and a worthwhile one at that. Imagine the satisfaction of taking an at-risk, non-running teen and turning them into a proud finisher in a 13.1 mile half marathon or a 26.2 marathon.

So, what can you do to help? There are two main areas in which the Marathon Project can benefit from your assistance:

1. Adult mentors are needed to work with the novice youth runners. "This means committing to the full training schedule within the project - running with the teens 2 - 3 times per week," O'Neil said. That training schedule will begin in March and run through November.

2. The running community can help financially through the "Adopt a Runner/Fund a Future campaign. "This is where our local community could assist the program by donating funds - $500 is our suggested donation to Adopt a Runner," O'Neil said. "The donation will help offset the cost of new running shoes that will be given to each student involved in the program, as well as provide them with transportation to local races."

The Marathon Project program will start on March 17 at the Dutchess County YMCA in Poughkeepsie, with a kick-off event from 10 a.m. until 2 p.m. Prior to that, there will be a Leadership Conference for all adult mentors on Feb. 10 at the Wallace Center in Hyde Park, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m.

If all goes well, the Marathon Project will culminate with the participants completing the Philadelphia Marathon or Half Marathon on Nov. 18. Target races leading up to the "final project" are: the YMCA Bridge Run 5K, May 5; Bill Crusie Memorial 5K, June 16; Dutchess County Classic, Sept. 16.

For more information on the program or to participate, contact Susanne O'Neil at 845-471-0194. To make a donation of any amount, send it by mail to Susanne O'Neil, The Marathon Project, CAPE/DC, 80 Washington Street, Poughkeepsie, N.Y. 12601.