Degenkolb Engineer Runs 199 Mile Relay to Benefit Organs-R-Us
For the second year in a row, I am proud to serve as the captain of a twelve-member relay team of runners which will make the journey from Calistoga to Santa Cruz on foot during the last weekend in April. The team, Faster by the Dozen, will forfeit a night of sleep and two days of showers in favor of a weekend of living out of vans and running continuously through the night. With three relay legs each, we will run through 36 cities, and over the Golden Gate Bridge at midnight, covering a total distance of 199 miles. Our team consists of friends and colleagues from within our industry and outside, with teammates representing companies such as SGH, Whiting-Turner and Geomatrix. What I love about The Relay is that it turns distance running, which can be a very individual sport, into a group effort; in addition to dedicated training, it requires excellent communication, teamwork, planning and a lot of enthusiasm just to make it to the finish line.
While our team members cover the costs of our registration, support vans, and the equipment and supplies that we carry with us, we also participate in fundraising to support Organs-R-Us. Degenkolb’s donation will help raise awareness about organ donation and support a group that saves lives every day. This year’s race is dedicated to Shawn Stockwell, a 10-year old boy who lives here in the Bay Area and is awaiting a heart transplant. Last year, we raised about $2500 and made the list of top ten teams in fundraising out of a field of about 250. We hope to beat that this year.
If you’d like more information about the race, or ORU, please visit the following websites:
http://www.therelay.com/organs/mission.html