press release

Run for Autism in Beantown

For Jeff Hill, Eric Olson and Greg Simpson, the dream of running Boston became a reality last month when they competed along side the best runners in the world at the 112th Boston Marathon.  Since 1897, this historic marathon has been held on the regional holiday of Patriots Day which is now celebrated on the Monday closest to April 19th.

Just participating in this race is a measure of success in the running community because not everyone can run Boston. In order to be part of this most famous and prestigious race runners must have previously posted a qualifying time at a certified USA Track and Field marathon within the past year.  For Jeff and Greg, Boston was an important personal milestone, however, as members of the 50/50 Club, in which runners seek to complete at least one marathon in each of the 50 states, it served as a check in the box for Massachusetts.  Including Eric, all three RUN FOR AUTISM veterans can now answer the big question; “Have you run Boston?” with a proud “Yes.”

After the race Greg Simpson noted:  “I received more support for OAR in Boston this year than any other marathon I have run. Runners were thanking me for running for autism, telling me what a great charity OAR is and what a great program OAR's Run for Autism is. Everyone at OAR should feel proud of all the great work that you do and know that it is recognized and appreciated.”

“Running for OAR is a great way to combine two of my passions: running and fighting autism.”  Jeff Hill added, “I unexpectedly qualified for the Boston Marathon last November. It has a lot of name recognition with donors and I figured that it might improve donor response. I've had a very enthusiastic response and have raised over $4,000.”

In order to understand the significance of the Boston Marathon, you need to know that in the century long history of race it once was the only marathon in the Untied States.  Early runners competed in canvas shorts and leather shoes on dirt roads.  Since then, the race has continued to develop over the years and now has a full time race production crew with millions of dollars in sponsorship and start-to-finish television coverage.  In reality, the marathon is much more than a race.  It has become a cultural icon in a sports-crazy town over the past 112 years.  Jeff, Eric and Greg can now add their names to the select list of runners that have done Boston, and OAR can add the Boston Marathon to the growing list of great races run by OAR runners.

ABOUT OAR: The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national, nonprofit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism and Asperger Syndrome.  OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions.  To find out more about OAR please go to: www.researchautism.org

About the RUN FOR AUTISM:  The RUN FOR AUTISM is OAR’s signature fundraising and awareness effort.  Thanks in part to the RUN program OAR has made significant contributions to the autism community providing over $1.4 million in research grants since 2002.  OAR is presently an official charity of the Marine Corps Marathon, Bank of America Chicago Marathon and New York City Half Marathon presented by Nike as well as a number of other events throughout the country. Please visit our web site or contact Doug Marocco at 703-243-9712  run@researchautism.org