The children at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital fight for their lives, and St. Jude has been fighting alongside them, revolutionizing the way the world treats pediatric cancer.
Before the dash...
In the fight against cancer, it’s time to get dirty; so the The Sports Association of Oakland rounded up the brave, the courageous, and the slightly naive to participate in The Warrior Dash – a fundraising event for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital which was held in Morristown, NJ.
The Warrior Dash is a fun filled, agonizing, 3 mile obstacle course through the woods – and many participants are simply drawn to the challenge, an opportunity to enjoy a day outdoors with friends & family, and the pleasure of a cold beer when the dash is over.
All participants, regardless of why they come, know that they are suffering for a good cause – and it would not be a Warrior Dash without some suffering.
Younger generations make up the majority of participants in the Warrior Dash, with only about 800 of the 8000 participants falling into the category of those 40-49 years old – this is where Oakland residents Mike Guadagnino, Brian Harris, Jeff Novak and Charlie McCormick fell – among other places.
Charlie at the last obstacle before the finish line.
The Dash started with runners going up a steep muddy hill, with many warriors resorting to crawling on their hands and knees to keep from sliding back down…. many probably praying to St. Jude, The Patron Saint of Hopeless Cases.
The obstacles that followed included a series of walls with overs, unders and angles; crawling under barbed wire; traversing a series of rolling muddy hills; climbing Deadman’s Drop; crawling through single lane trenches; climbing a huge A-frame of ropes; leaping over fire; and, then the huge mud pit prior to the finish line….that’s probably half the obstacles.
Brian Harris, an Oakland marathoner who recently ran the Boston marathon and the New Jersey Marathon, was hoping to place in his age group. The other Oakland participants were fully supportive of Brian’s goal, and as Jeff Novak explained, “We were behind him all the way.” Harris ended up placing 43rd out of the over 8,000 participants -4th in his age group.
Even the best of athletes were challenged by the course; and, emerging mud covered, breathless, sometimes bloody at the finish line, every warrior was a victor, every warrior a winner.
Harris appears un-muddied in the accompanying photo as he had already showered, made some phone calls, gotten something to drink, and read a magazine while waiting for the other Oakland participants.
The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Consistent with the vision of its founder – the television star Danny Thomas – no child is denied treatment based on race, religion or a family’s ability to pay.
Mike enjoying a well deserved turkey leg after the dash
The story of how Danny Thomas founded St. Jude’s is an inspiring one, based on a solid belief in God and miracles. As his daughter, Marlo Thomas tells it…
“…Dad had a rough start. Although he worked hard in nightclubs and on the radio, he wasn’t getting anywhere in his career. He told us about the time when he and my mom were about to have their first baby (me) – he had only $10 in his pocket, but it would cost $50 to get us out of the hospital. (Daddy used to say that I cost $50, Terre cost $500, and Tony cost $5,000. I was definitely the bargain baby of the family.)
So my dad was feeling pretty hopeless and scared, and he went to church to pray. On that particular day, the sermon was about St. Jude Thaddeus – the Patron Saint of Hopeless Causes. So he prayed to St. Jude, asking, Please, please, give me a sign to help me find my way in life – just a sign that I’m going in the right direction, and someday I’ll build a shrine in your name….”
- St. Jude has treated children from all 50 states and from around the world.
- On average, 7,800 active patients visit the hospital each year, most of whom are treated on an outpatient basis.
- St. Jude is the first and only pediatric cancer center to be designated as a Comprehensive Cancer Center by the National Cancer Institute.
- St. Jude is the first institution established for the sole purpose of conducting basic and clinical research and treatment into catastrophic childhood diseases, mainly cancer.
- Research findings at St. Jude are shared freely with doctors and scientists all over the world.
- The medical and scientific staff published more than 680 articles in academic journals in 2010, more than any other pediatric cancer research center in the United States. St. Jude’s researchers are published and cited more often in high impact publications than any other private pediatric oncology institution in America.
- No family ever pays St. Jude for anything.
LINKS:
Sports Association of Oakland on Facebook
Photos courtesy of Jill Vecchio.
This picture below was Re-Tweeted by Cory A. Booker, Mayor of Newark, now candidate for U.S. Senate
Absolutely! RT @MGuad27 Sports Association of Oakland helps Fund raise for St Jude's with Mud run can we get a RT? pic.twitter.com/c7MPK01GKO
— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) August 4, 2013
Nice work fellas! Looks like you had a good time for a great cause.