Naperville marathoners go extra mile for local charities
Perhaps the biggest winner of Sunday's fourth annual Healthy Driven Naperville Marathon was charity.
Many of the estimated 4,150 runners in the event were not only celebrating personal accomplishment when they crossed the finish line, but their success in raising money and awareness for good causes across the region.
"It means a lot of fundraising," said Naperville Mayor Steve Chirico, who verbally launched the race at 7 a.m. in the city's downtown. "They're going to raise over a million dollars this year for local charities."
Among those running for charity was Casey Braet of Aurora, who ran the half marathon for GiGi's Playhouse Fox Valley, an achievement center for children with Down syndrome, and on behalf of her 2½-year-old daughter, Sammy.
"They offer so many great services," she said of GiGi's. "You can't come out of that place without smiling."
Her running partner was Katie Finke, vice-president of GiGi's Playhouse's board. Finke, who was running on behalf of her 5-year-old son, Owen, said 16 runners Sunday raised almost $10,000 for the Playhouse.
Many of the runners also ran the extra mile in achieving personal goals.
Michael Lucchesi of Bolingbrook, who finished first among the men in the half-marathon, said it was his first race in the five years since he blew out his left Achilles tendon.
"I started to tear up," he said. "I never thought I would be able to do this again."
Lucchesi's running pupil, Alyssa Schneider of Bartlett, took first place among the women in the half marathon. Schneider is an assistant coach for the girls' cross-country team at Metea Valley High School in Aurora.
"All my girls were at mile 11. When I ran by mile 11, my whole team was out there cheering for me," she said.
Others ran the marathon or half-marathon to make a change of lifestyle. Jeff Lerner, who not only ran a half marathon, but also worked the event from 4:30 a.m. to 6:30 a.m. as a volunteer, said he began running after suffering a heart attack a year and a half ago.
"I decided to go from one end of smoking, drinking and partying to exercising. This is my third this year. I love it. It gets in your blood," he said.
Of the 4,150 runners took part in Sunday's event, 850 ran the full marathon, said race director Craig Bixler.
Andrew Kaehr of Chicago finished first in the marathon.
The inaugural Naperville Kids Marathon attracted almost 800 children Saturday at Naperville North High School. Bixler said the children had run or walked one mile 25 different times over the summer, then finished the final 1.2 miles of their "marathon" at the high school Saturday.