Posted: October 5, 2007

Athletics: Counting Down To The 30th Anniversary Lasalle Bank Chicago Marathon

30 Inspiring Stories in 30 Days A diagnosis of Type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis was not enough incentive to push Alesiah E. Wright to pursue a healthy lifestyle. But missing the view from Mt. Sinai triggered her to realize her health was holding her back from living her life. Her new outlook brings her to the start line of The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. WHO: Alesiah E. Wright AGE: 43 OCCUPATION: Administrative assistant for Living Word Christian Center in Forest Park HOMETOWN: Forest Park, Illinois PREVIOUS MARATHONS: Debut RUNNER STORY: Alesiah Wright needed a reality check to motivate her to run in her first marathon. After being a public safety officer for ten years, she took a desk job as an administrative assistant. The new job did not allow for much daily exercise and slowly her health began its decline. She found that she was gaining weight and the inconveniences were slowing her down. She experienced headaches, blurred vision and unusual pain in her hips and legs. Realizing that something serious was going on with her body, Alesiah reluctantly visited her doctor. A series of tests proved that she had Type II diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis in her hips. The diagnosis explained her symptoms though she did not take the doctor’s orders to change her lifestyle seriously. She would have to face a greater disappointment to push her to alter her sluggish way of life. In 2006, Alesiah had the opportunity of a lifetime. She planned to travel to Egypt for an excursion that would take her to the peak of Mt. Sinai. She was accompanied by a group of eager climbers and quickly noticed her inability to keep up with her peers. She found herself out of breath and struggling just to keep up with an elderly couple who were also lagging. Yet, she pushed her way forward, determined to meet her goal. When Alesiah was about 50 feet from reaching the peak, her body shut down. She rested and watched the others press on to the top. Alesiah was devastated. After spending more than 26 hours in the air, on three different airplanes, and being subjected to countless customs checkpoints, she would not arrive at her ultimate destination. On her journey home she dwelled on her frustration of not completing the full climb. She came to the conclusion that her weight was not only causing her health to dwindle, but it was holding her back from living her life. Alesiah took the first step toward living healthier when she returned home. She joined the Elijah Running Club sponsored by her church to run in The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon. She began training with the group and together they have worked up to running 18 miles for their Saturday group runs. She is also proud of her personal discipline as she runs 5 miles on her own, twice per week, in preparation of the marathon. Her attitude for exercise has completely changed as she now looks forward to running rather than dreading it as a painful chore. She is particularly looking forward to being a part of the amazing event in Chicago and proving to herself that she can go the distance. RACE INFORMATION: The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon will celebrate its 30th anniversary on Sunday, October 7, 2007 as 45,000 participants advance to the start line, embarking on the culmination of 45,000 personal journeys. Along with the massive field of recreational runners, the 26.2-mile course will welcome a full field of world renowned professional athletes drawn to the flat, fast, urban setting and the potential to break world and national records. The professionals will compete for prize money and points in the World Marathon Majors series which will crown its first male and female champions with $500,000 each at the close of 2007. Since the inception of its charity program in 2002, The LaSalle Bank Chicago Marathon has generated more than $27.5 million for a variety of charitable causes including $9.5 million in the 2006 event alone. Registration for the race opened on January 1, 2007 and closed when it reached capacity on April 18. Alesiah’s story and all previously released runner stories are available at ChicagoMarathon.com. Subscribe to the Runner's Web Weekly Digest