Woman Completes 21 Marathon Mission Memorial Day Weekend

Orlando runner Shirley Pratt will complete her mission to run 21 marathons across the nation in nine months on Memorial Day weekend. She has received nearly $20,000 in donations and pledges for two charities that raise the morale of deployed troops and help the families of fallen service members.

Orlando, FL (PRWEB) May 26, 2005 -- Orlando runner Shirley Pratt will run the final race of her 21 Run Salute" campaign in Traverse City, Michigan, on Memorial Day weekend. On September 11, 2004, Pratt began her mission to run 21 full marathons across the nation to honor and support U.S. troops involved in the global war on terrorism. The first-time fundraiser has received nearly $20,000 in donations and pledges for two charities that raise the morale of deployed troops and help the families of fallen service members, Operation USO Care Package and Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). The Traverse City Bayshore Marathon will be held on Saturday, May 28.

Pratt, 43, is a long-time runner who has worked for both the Army and Navy since graduating from college. Married to a former U.S. Marine, she was motivated to run for the troops when friends and a relative were sent overseas. Though most marathon runners complete only one or two marathons a year, Pratt set the ambitious goal of running 21 marathons in nine months for the troops to pay special tribute to their courage, dedication and sacrifices. She ran her first 26.2 mile race only two and a half years ago but has already run a total of 32 marathons altogether, including two Boston Marathons. To fund her effort, Pratt became the first athlete from the Orlando area to win a grant from the Balance Bar Activity Grants Program. She was also selected to be a member of two sponsored athlete programs, Team Active Elite 2004-2005 and Team Amino Vital 2005-2006, for her competitive running achievements.

Without a doubt, this campaign has been the most rewarding thing Ive ever done in my life," says Pratt. Hurricanes Charley, Frances and Jeanne did their best to stop me early on but I persevered. Whenever my legs started complaining during a race, I filled my head with thoughts of what the troops and families left behind were facing to keep going. Though running marathons every one to two weeks has been very challenging, the most difficult thing for me has really been fundraising. Ill cross the finish line of my 21st race on Saturday but still have a little more to go to meet my goal of raising $21,000 for the charities."

To help her raise awareness and funds for this cause, Pratt recruited other runners from a dozen different states, as well as one in Europe, to join her campaign. She has been featured in Runners World Magazine (May 2005 issue) and on America Supports You", a program launched by the U.S. Department of Defense to recognize what various Americans are doing to support the troops. For more information or to help Pratt meet her fundraising goal, please visit www.21RunSalute.org.

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