Left: Former Trottier runner Glynis Healey is running for the love of running – in herself, and hopefully in children throughout the country. (Image from fundraising page)
Southborough has always had an impressive showing at the Boston Marathon, and this year is no exception.
On Monday, April 20, nineteen Southborough residents will don a bib a run to run. Many will be raising funds for important causes in the process.
Every runner has a story, and from now until marathon day, I’ll feature as many as I can.
Today’s feature focuses on Glynis Healey. She is running to support the American Medical Athletic Association,to promote physical activity in school-age children.
Apparently, Healey attended Trottier Middle School and was able to take advantage of the after school cross-country and track program. Now she is looking to help kids in other towns have similar encouragement.
The hometown girl’s mother asked me to share her news (with acknowledgement of Jeff Bean, his staff and the Recreation Department for the great Trottier program.) Healey herself is keeping a low profile, putting her focus on the cause.
From her fundraising page:
BENEFITTING AMAA’s YOUTH FITNESS FUND
For the 2015 “RUN the Boston Marathon® with AMAA” program, we’ve partnered with CrowdRise to encourage AMAA members to unite and fundraise for our 2014-2015 Youth Fitness Fund. Just imagine the impact our group of medical and health professionals can have when harnessed to send a fitness message to the community in a fun and compelling way!
The Problem: Over 30 percent of children ages six to 11 are overweight, 15 percent are obese, and three out of five children ages nine to 13 don’t participate in sports or other coached physical activities outside of school. These overweight and unfit children are more likely to remain unhealthy in adulthood and have an increased risk for developing life-threatening medical conditions such as Type II diabetes and heart disease.
The Solution: The American Running Association (ARA) and its medical division, the American Medical Athletic Association, are united in efforts to deter youth obesity in the U.S. and promote higher levels of physical activity for school-age youth. . .
Support for the ARA/AMAA Youth Fitness Fund will help expand the organizations’ efforts to increase the number of grass-roots youth running events nationwide.
As for Healey herself, here’s what she shared under “about”:
I started distance running when I realized I had little to no hand-eye coordination, and ended up loving it. It’s been over 10 years and I’ve done every distance from 400 meters to a half-marathon, so I figured it was time to go for the whole thing! I’m originally from the Boston area and grew up watching the Boston Marathon, and I’m incredibly excited to raise money for AMAA and run Boston 2015!
For more details or to support her fundraiser, click here.
[If you’re running the Boston Marathon and would like to have your story featured, drop me a line at mysouthborough@gmail.com]
