I signed up for a marathon
I never thought I’d run a marathon. It has always seemed like a bucket list item for other people, but never for me. However, that started to change after running two half marathons at the LA marathon, and I started to get a tinge of FOMO as I watched the marathon runners absolutely struggling to crawl to the finish line after 26.2 miles. For some reason, I thought “wow, I’d love for that to be me.”
And separately, I am so, so exhausted of seeing a new mass shooting on the news every couple of weeks — most heartbreakingly, when there is a shooting where kids die at school, where they are supposed to be focused on being curious and taking in all the information that will propel them into their futures.
So I combined these two feelings — I signed up to run my first marathon in NYC this November to prevent gun violence before it happens by raising $3,500 for Sandy Hook Promise.
In a few decades, when I’m telling my kids that mom somehow ran this many miles consecutively, I want to have some type of documentation that I actually did it. On this blog, I’ll be posting about how my training is going, the thoughts that fill the void in my brain during long runs, and why the cause to prevent gun violence is one worth supporting.
If you’re reading this, I am more grateful than you can imagine. This cause is personal to me, as my college town Isla Vista was devastated by gun violence during my freshman year, but it is something that impacts us all. I know I have so many generous and loving people in my circle who are committed to improving the world around them, and that in and of itself makes me hopeful and proud. Thank you for reading, thank you for donating, and thank you for being you!
Here’s some basics about the cause and my reasons for supporting it.
The facts:
• Firearms are the leading cause of death for American children and teens — nearly 2,500 children and teens die by gun homicide every year.
• As of mid-April, the Gun Violence Archive has counted at least 145 mass shootings in the United States this year.
• Last year, the group counted 647 mass shootings. Of those, 21 involved five or more fatalities.
Why I'm running:
Gun violence impacted me directly as a freshman at UC Santa Barbara in 2014, when a gunman killed 6 of my neighbors and classmates in Isla Vista. Though that was nearly 10 years ago, I'm part of the growing list of Americans who must relive the experience every time there is gun violence in the news — which is, unfortunately, very often. I think about those 6 people regularly, and about their loved ones who must wake up every morning to the horrific reality that their child, sibling, or friend was taken from them in a way that could have been prevented. And then I think about the hundreds of other families every year who must do the same. The sheer number of people who have been touched by gun violence in some way.
It's deflating to turn on the news every time a shooting happens and hear lawmakers dwell on all the barriers to solutions to this problem when there is so much we can do. There are creative people out there doing the research, and implementing systems that actually work. Which is why I'm running for Sandy Hook Promise.
The cause:
18.5 million individuals who participated in the "know the signs" education program
406 confirmed lives saved through prevention
171K anonymous tips
I'll be documenting my training here: www.instagram.com/kaitontherun
Donate here: https://fundraisers.hakuapp.com/kaitontherun