This is not the first time Mike Heimert will "go the distance" for the children.   He and his wife Randi Heimert have inspired many Fuling families and friends to remember the kids.  Mike writes:

Two years ago I ran the first marathon to raise money for the babies in Fuling. For those of you who were with me, you know that at the end of the race I was tired, limping and smelled like a barnyard animal. A really stinky, sweaty, decrepit barnyard animal. I also said I would never run another marathon. I kept my promise, too - for one year.

What I hadn't factored into my definitive opinion was the Catholic guilt that was instilled into my psyche from too many years of parochial school. And, boy, did that guilt hit me during the morning of last year's marathon--when I didn't run. So truly, for an almost inexplicable reason, I am back at it again this year.

Yet, the sacrifice that any of us make - be it physical, monetary or temporal, is so little compared to what is gained for the kids in Fuling. Everyone involved in this effort (the volunteers, the donors and the runners) all have to give up just a tiny amount when compared to both the benefit that the effort brings and the sacrifice that the birth mothers and children of Fuling had to endure.

So, with that in mind, and in honor of Gracie Reilly, I will put the shoes on one more time.

See you all at the run!

Mike, wife Randi, Taylor (from Fuling), Dylan and Alison .

Please support Mike and the other parents
running for the children!
Together we can be the difference in their lives.

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