DAVID NAKAGAMI
Assistant Sports Editor
While most people were at the beach enjoying the scorching weather during Labor Day Weekend, senior Lacey Lowber prepared for one of the greatest athletic endeavors of her life. Lowber ran in the Disneyland Half Marathon Monday to support St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Unlike the beachgoers, Lowber’s plan has been in the works for several months. After her roommate came across the Disneyland Half Marathon, Lowber, a member of the Delta Delta Delta sorority, decided it would be a fantastic opportunity to raise money and awareness for her sorority’s national philanthropy, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. St. Jude, based in Memphis, Tenn., specializes in treating children with cancer and other life-threatening diseases, without regard to the ability to pay for the invaluable services they provide. Due to their policy, St. Jude, the third largest health-care charity in the nation, is heavily dependent on the generosity of people like Lowber.
“When I read the blurb about it online, I was thinking about kids with cancer,” Lowber said.
Perhaps the only hesitation in her decision to take on the “Happiest Race on Earth,” as the motto for the Disneyland Half Marathon exclaims, was the condition of her knees. Lowber has had a series of surgeries on both of her knees, which forced her to quit track, basketball, and fast-pitch softball in high school.
“I have my health, and my knees aren’t 100 percent, but I’m still able to do this,” Lowber said.
As soon as she registered for her first half marathon in May, Lowber began training. She hit the ground running, scheduling runs three days a week, with each run increasing in two-mile increments. However, due to her chronic knee trouble, Lowber was limited to running every other week in August as the race neared. She trained in Malibu, Seattle, and on vacation in eastern Washington.
In addition to her workouts, Lowber signed up with St. Jude and set up her own website. Finally, she sent out letters and spread the word to her relatives, friends, co-workers, and bosses, asking them to donate to her cause.
Gifts have been coming in steadily from all directions, from uncles and aunts to Pepperdine faculty and professors. In fact, Lowber is still accepting donations for the next two weeks.
“So far I’ve raised $800, and my employer (Smith Barney Citigroup) will match that,” said Lowber. “So if I can make a $2000 contribution to them for something that was fun for me to do anyways, why not? I thought about it, and I have no reason not to do this.”
The race itself began bright and early at 6 a.m. in Downtown Disney. An estimated 13,000 participants from 49 states and 13 countries from around the globe assembled at the start, ready to race.
Although Lowber came alone to run, she was joined by many people like herself who were running for equally estimable foundations, such as AIDS and ALS (amytrophic lateral sclerosis) research.
The 13.1 mile course took the runners through both California Adventure and Disneyland parks, past the Honda Center, and into Angel Stadium, with the finish at Downtown Disney. Despite a recorded temperature as high as 108 degrees during the day, Lowber finished the race in a time of 2:12:31, good for 76th place out of 531 women in the 18-24 age group.
The event, her first athletic event to raise money, was a learning experience for Lowber. Had she known of the pain during and soreness after the run, Lowber said she would have taken some pre-race Advil. Also, she wished that she had trained in the heat to prepare for the extreme temperatures. But she says the friendliness of the other runners surprised her pleasantly. The spectators numbered an impressive 5,000 people, and among them were cheerleading squads, marching bands, water dispensers, and fans holding signs.
“I didn’t know a single person there, and I met so many people while I was there,” said Lowber. “They were just really nice people.”
As for the future, Lowber is considering doing another fundraising run, and a full marathon may be on the horizon. But for now, she plans on resting and getting her knees checked out by a doctor.
For those who are considering following her footsteps by running to raise money for St. Jude and other worthy causes, Lowber offers encouragement.
“If you have the chance to do something like this, do it,” she said. “It’s really rewarding.”
After weeks of training and preparation, Lowber said partaking in the Disneyland Half Marathon on behalf of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital has been fulfilling.
“It was nice to go and know that I was making an effort to do something to change someone else’s life for the better,” she said.
Lowber will not soon forget her first half marathon, and neither will the children and their families at St. Jude overlook the fruits of Lowber’s efforts.
09-06-2007
