By Staff
Normally, running a marathon is something people do for the challenge it represents to them personally, and the sense of achievement its completion will provide them. At least, that's what we at The Standard speculate. None of us here have ever actually run a marathon, but having listened to those who have, it seems much like any other formidably challenging task, physical or otherwise.
You do it to challenge yourself, to push yourself toward doing and accomplishing something special and unique, and to learn more about yourself along the way. Most big challenges we undertake are, after all, opportunities for both achievement and self-discovery. Ask a mountain climber why he scales a mountain, and he'll likely answer "because it's there," but that's just code for a number of deeper, more substantive reasons. A marathoner might answer a question about why he runs in a similar way.
But this time, for one local runner, it's different. Brewton's Bill Thallemer, who's run in 17 marathons, all over the country, is now running for Rebecca Ann Moore, and her family. Rebecca Ann has a hemangioma, a birthmark-like condition which has challenged her ability breath at times. Treatments have her almost ready to come home, but missed work and astronomical medical costs have been a huge burden on her family, and Thallemer, a close friend, has hit upon a way to help out using his running ability.
On Monday, May 31, he'll run from the Brewton JDCC campus to the Atmore Campus, a trek of 35 miles, a greater-than-marathon distance. He's asking people to either sponsor him per mile, or make a lump sum contribution to the effort. Thallemer's effort is a great example of friendship and giving that will no doubt inspire many to do so.
We'll be at the Atmore campus to greet him when he arrives May 31, and encourage others to get involved in whatever way they can. Thallemer's doing the hard part, the running -- making it easy for the rest of us to help.