"Worth the Hurt" and a local hero

“Worth the Hurt” began as an inspired description of the famously hilly and scenic San Francisco Marathon, but in 2012, the event has turned into a distinct challenge, and a new model of charitable giving. On July 29th, The Wipro San Francisco Marathon will welcome six of running’s most prolific fund-raisers in an audacious challenge: to run the marathon twice, back-to-back.

The 52.4-mile endeavor is only the starting point for Worth the Hurt -- a ground-breaking model for charitable fund-raising development. The six athletes are aiming to raise as much as $1,000,000 throughout the year -- and to empower this campaign, Worth the Hurt will sponsor each of them, granting up to $5,000 each to cover their race and training expenses. The athletes will fund-raise not only for the ultra-marathon, but throughout the calendar year.

“It is a completely new twist on event-based charitable giving,” notes Wendi Chapman, the Marathon’s Vice President and director for Worth the Hurt. “These athletes are taking on worthy challenges, and by directly sponsoring them and covering many of their expenses throughout the year, we hope to empower them to raise more money for their favored charities and affect the lives of even more people.”

Among this group of amazing athletes is our local, Houston radio host, Kevin Klein and after reading his bio and reason for running and fundraising, I am inspired and I think you will be too...
Kevin Klein, Houston, Texas – A morning radio host for The New 93Q (KKBQ-FM) and a nominee in 2009 for PEOPLE Magazine’s “All Stars Among Us,” Klein is a prolific fund-raiser and epic long-distance athlete. He and his wife Trish founded the Snowdrop Foundation in 2006 to help support pediatric cancer patients. After producing and starring in the movie “Dear Chelsey” which chronicles his 482-mile Strides Across Texas campaign, he is geared up for fifteen endurance races in 2012 with Worth the Hurt

Kevin Klein, who takes on epic endurance feats on behalf of the Snowdrop Foundation, said, "I never use the word ‘pain’ to describe what I feel during an ultra-run. It's always just a level of discomfort. I've seen real pain in children fighting cancer. When a 15-year-old girl, for three straight days, can't even sit up in her mechanical bed because the hurt is unbearable...that's true pain. If what I go through in an ultra-endurance run can raise enough awareness and money so that a kid with cancer never has to be tortured like that again, then yes, my suffering is definitely Worth The Hurt."

This helps me put into perspective that sometimes through exercise and reaching goals, we feel pain but it is only temporary but many children and adults fight for their lives each day...their pain is constant, and the pain is constant for those that lose someone that they love to these horrible diseases.

These athletes set the standard for all of us to push, reach and exceed our own goals that we set for ourselves...we may not ALL be running an ultra, but we are ALL worth success and worth the journey that exercise and healthy living brings...

-The Move It Momma

Happy Easter to all of you!

The 52.4 route will open at 12 a.m. on July 29^th, and all of the runners are expected to finish their first marathon in time to start with a field expected to surpass 8,000. For more information, visit the Worth the Hurt Facebook page.