Posted: July 24, 2006

Athletics: Entrants for The San Francisco Marathon(tm) Submit Inspiring Stories

Local Standout Julia Stamps in Elite Field for Sunday, July 30 Race

SAN FRANCISCO - (July 24, 2006) - For the majority of participants who choose to endure 26.2 miles of a marathon race, simply reaching the finish line is a momentous personal victory. Some runners, however, among the 15,000 entrants in The San Francisco Marathon(tm) on Sunday, July 30 will step beyond individual achievements to touch and inspire others.

The marathon asked its entrants, "Why are you running the marathon?" and invited them to submit their personal stories.

Sterling W. Simpson, MD is a Pediatric Pulmonologist at Children's Hospital of Los Angeles. Simpson, 34, has selected San Francisco as his very first marathon. As a charity runner, he will raise funds for the AIDS Project Los Angeles. Simpson is inspired by the children he treats who have asthma, cystic fibrosis, and other lung diseases. The children, says Simpson, often push their bodies to the limit despite their challenges.

"I'm healthy, active, and don't smoke, so the least I can do is set a good example," Simpson said. "I'm ready to tackle 26.2 miles."

Tawni Gomes, 42, of Long Beach, Calif. writes that she weighed 295 pounds 10 years ago. Today, at a lithe 135 pounds, Gomes will run her 60th marathon at this year's race. She will also celebrate the tenth anniversary of the Connectors, an online support group that she created for people who want to lose weight. Recently, Gomes appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show.

Cas Camara, 43, of Windermere, Fla. is running The San Francisco Marathon(tm) with his wife, Carla, after being told by doctors that he would never walk on his own two legs again. While living in San Francisco in 1989, a hit-and-run motorcycle accident put Camara in the hospital with a crushed left leg and other serious injuries. Before doctors could amputate the limb, Camara's father, who had served as a military nurse in battle during World War II, pulled Camara out of the hospital and nursed his son back to health. Camara started running in 1998, the day his father died, to escape his grief. He hasn't stopped moving. Since then, he has completed 31 marathons in appreciation of his dad's efforts. "He saved my life," Camara said.

Kevan Huston, 34, of Larkspur, Calif. once carried 202 pounds on his six-foot frame. He would drink a bottle of vodka and smoke a pack of cigarettes while plopped in front of his TV watching a football game. Five years ago, the investment banker started a jogging program. Today, at 150 pounds, he owns a personal best marathon of 2 hours and 34 minutes. He will run San Francisco as an elite entrant and hopes to bring down his time.

"Running has changed my life," Huston said. "I'm now married - to a runner, of course. I have two amazing children. We even moved to beautiful Marin County [from New York City]. Life has just gotten better since I started this sport."

Susanne Henson, 47, of Marion, Iowa ran her first marathon at San Francisco 10 years ago. She says this year's marathon, her eighth, will be her last. She'll run with her daughter, Lauren, who will tackle her first 26.2 miler. Race day is Lauren's 21st birthday.

Scott Boliver, 43, of Brea, Calif. weighed 336 pounds before he had gastric bypass surgery and started running marathons for fitness while raising charity donations for AIDS Project. At The San Francisco Marathon(tm), his 14th race at the distance, he will bolster the $20,000 he has already raised. Boliver has lost 140 pounds.

Runners who can't seem to find the time or motivation to train for a marathon might take a lesson from Dan Welsh. The 29-year-old U.S. Army Captain, whose hometown is Meadow Vista, Calif., is stationed at Fort Huachuca, Ariz. He joins The San Francisco Marathon's elite field for his second-ever marathon less than a year after returning from deployment in Iraq where he served as an intelligence officer. Welsh competed in track and cross country at Sacramento's Jesuit High School and East Tennessee State University where he received All-Conference honors. When he joined the military, he kept running, beyond and above basic physical training requirements - even in a war zone.

Welsh was stationed with the 1st Brigade of the 25th Infantry Division near Mosul in northwestern Iraq, and was involved in counter-insurgency operations. He regularly ran a one-mile loop around his base, sometimes ducking artillery and mortar fire.

"Compared to what I've seen in Iraq, the little bit of discomfort that an endurance race might hold is really nothing," Welsh said.

Participants in The San Francisco Marathon(tm) this year hail from all 50 states and 44 countries. The top entrants include former Santa Rosa High School and Stanford University standout Julia Stamps and Andrew Cook of Denton, Texas.

Stamps, 27, who now resides in New York City, returns to California for her San Francisco Marathon debut as one of the top high school runners in the state's history. Cook, 25, owns the best marathon time in the men's field, a 2:19:48 he recorded last February at the Austin Freescale Marathon.

Visit the race website at: SFMarathon.net.

Ryan Lamppa, Running USA Media Director
(805) 696-6232; Fax = (805) 659-0016
Ryan@RunningUSA.org
www.RunningUSA.org.

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