GLASA's Twilight 5K helps everyone participate in competitive sports

The Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association will host its annual Twilight 5K Run/Walk/Roll Saturday, Sept. 7, at the Gorton Community Center, 400 E. Illinois Road, Lake Forest.

The event begins with a free children's fun run at 4:45 p.m. The adaptive division begins the 5K at 5:15 p.m., followed by runners and walkers at 5:20 p.m., with an awards presentation at 7 p.m.

Packet pickup will be available Thursday, Sept. 5, at Runner's Edge, 524 N. Milwaukee Ave., Libertyville; Friday, Sept. 6, at Kiddles, 258 Market Square, Lake Forest; and Saturday, Sept. 7 at the event.

Registration is $35 until Friday, Aug. 30, and $40 from Aug. 31 through race day. Chicago Area Runners Association and military discounts are available. The first 100 to register receive a GLASA 20th anniversary pint glass. For more details and to register, visit glasatwilight.org.

We spoke with GLASA Development Director Cherie Hrusovsky to get more information.

Q: Can you give us a general overview of what the Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association does?

A: Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association (GLASA) promotes and supports the development and well-being of youth, adults and military veterans who have a physical or visual disability through inclusive recreation, fitness and competitive sports programs.

Sports programming can be adapted to meet the needs of individuals who use manual or power wheelchairs, in addition to those with ambulatory disabilities and visual impairments. Twenty-five sports are offered each year, e.g. wheelchair football, wheelchair tennis, track and field, swim, sled hockey, goalball.

Q: How long has GLASA been active? How was it founded?

A: GLASA is celebrating 20 years as a nonprofit this year. Founded by its present executive director, Cindy Housner. Cindy saw a need for adaptive sports programs in the northern Illinois suburbs and started with three athletes. Today we serve 1,020.

Q: How does GLASA help people and the community?

A: Great Lakes Adaptive Sports Association provides physical activity, health, and wellness programming to individuals with physical and visual disabilities.

Adaptive sports like wheelchair basketball, track and field, swimming, and golf are used as tools to improve physical, social and emotional health outcomes for individuals with cerebral palsy, spina bifida, spinal cord injuries, amputations, visual impairment, stroke and many other disabilities.

From recreational to competitive, GLASA welcomes participants of every age, ability and fitness level. A specialized program meets the needs of injured military veterans, and a peer mentoring program seeks to connect youth with disabilities to adults who can help navigate the challenges associated with living with a disability.

Each year, 1,000 people benefit from GLASA's direct programming, special events, and sports competitions. An adaptive equipment lending program allows people to access highly priced pieces of adaptive sports equipment.

An additional 3,000 individuals benefit from its community-based ability awareness programs, where GLASA staff go into schools and teach youth how we are all more similar than different.

Q: Tell us the story of someone who was helped by your organization.

A: Chris Michels sustained a spinal cord injury after a motorcycle accident. Chris was unable to walk and reliant on a wheelchair for mobility. As Chris learned to navigate the world as a wheelchair user, he experienced depression and struggled to adapt to his disability.

Nine months after his injury, Chris found GLASA. He initially did not come for the sports programs; he came because he was seeking a community of people with disabilities who could share experiences and provide advice.

"It can be a very lonely feeling when you think that no one you know really understands how you feel or what you are going through," Chris said.

"Those feelings are erased when you go to the GLASA programs. What GLASA first did for me was improve my state of mind. Now when I go to GLASA programs, I'm no longer searching for inclusion, but to be competitive in whatever sport I'm participating in."

His full story can be found here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=sIE5zVzGB78

Q: What is the Twilight Run like?

A: The Twilight Run/Walk/Roll & Post-Race Party is one of the largest CARA (Chicago Area Runners Association) certified 5K races in the Chicago area, serving competitive and recreational runners and athletes with disabilities. The start and finish is the Gorton Community Center, with the race winding through the streets of Lake Forest past Lake Michigan.

Q: What can runners expect?

A: The race provides an opportunity for the runner or wheeler looking to complete their first 5K, as well as the experienced and competitive runner and wheelchair racer looking to set a personal record. It brings the running community together, where a runner or walker has an opportunity to compete alongside an athlete with a disability. The post-race party provides a great community atmosphere with live music, games and prizes for children, hair painting, food by Sunset Foods and microbrew beer from Tighthead Brewing Company, wine and soda, all for purchase. Awards will be presented to the first-, second- and third-place finishers in multiple divisions, which include age group awards for runners and teams, as well as for manual wheelchairs, racing chairs and hand cycles, ambulatory, amputees and the visually impaired.

Q: Is there anything new or different about this year's race compared to previous years?

A: The run will be an extension of GLASA's 20th anniversary celebration. GLASA will host a competition between area running clubs in which the club with the most members registered wins a stadium cup that entitles them to free beer. Also, the first 100 registrants will receive an anniversary pint glass.

Q: How many people participated last year and how much did you raise?

A: Three hundred runners registered for the 2018 race and GLASA raised nearly $35,000. The proceeds will help GLASA provide year-round, daily adaptive sports programming and financial assistance for more than 70% of athletes through the Athlete Scholarship Fund. Our goals are to help increase the overall health and wellness of our athletes, assist with funding of athlete scholarships and to expand outreach to surrounding communities.

Q: How can people who are unable to attend Twilight 5K Run/Walk/Roll help out?

A: More than 100 volunteers are needed, so if a person is unable to compete, they can always volunteer, they can share information about the run or make a donation. Information can be found at www.glasatwilight.org.

Q: What are some of GLASA's other projects and/or events?

A: GLASA has a team of 51 runners competing in the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon, and each runner is raising money for our athletes. The Sleds are Coming is a joint venture between the Lake Forest College Athletic Department and GLASA to sponsor a nonalcoholic, campus and community event to raise funds for GLASA athletes. This event is scheduled for Sunday, Feb. 9, 2020, at the college.

GLASA will host its annual gala in late April, which serves as its major fundraiser.