This year’s WELS Kids Marathon Charity Donation will be to the Make it Happen Fund. I wanted to share with you the “Who” behind the Make it Happen Fund.
Jenny Crain is a runner who attended Franklin High School in the 1980’s. After college, she grew into one of the best marathon runners in the United States. In 2005, Jenny represented the United States in the World Track & Field Championships held in Helsinki, Finland. She ran a time of 2:39:02, good for 36th place.
Jenny is a very friendly and welcoming runner in the Milwaukee area. I have personally met her many times at local races that she runs even though she was world class runner. She loved running locally and supported all the local runners.
In 2007, Jenny was training for her fourth US Olympic Marathon Trials. She was on a run on the east side of Milwaukee when she was unexpectedly hit by a car just before finishing her run. She received major injuries to her body and her brain. She survived though. And with an Olympic spirit in her heart that would win gold a thousand times over, she began the biggest training of her life, recovery. Over the last 4 years, she has worked her way up to being able to walk with the aid of a walker. Last month, she walked 1 mile at a local charity run on her behalf. She has a long way to go.
Team Jenny at the Brewers Game, Jenny sitting in the middle.
Many local runners have now supported Jenny the way she supported them over the years. The Make it Happen Fund was set up to help Jenny with her massive medical bills. Now the kids of the WELS Kids Marathon are supporting Jenny too! This year, the WELS Kids Marathon will make a donation to the Make It Happen Fund.
This fall, at the Lakefront Marathon in Milwaukee, Team Jenny will be attempting to break a World Record for the most runners tethered together running a full marathon. I have been graciously invited to join this team allowing me to share this wonderful story of survival with you all. 75 of us will be tethered with a rope all running the whole 26.2 miles together. Runners of all abilities are now training to accomplish this World Record. Please follow our journey as we support Jenny.
If you feel inspired to make a personal donation to the Make it Happen Fund, please follow this link.
If you would like to learn more about the Jenny Crain Story, here is a link to a wonderful story published in Runner’s World Magazine. Well worth the read.
Thank you,
Bill Schneider
WELS Kids Marathon Director
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