13.1 miles, to some it is a challenge to finish, and others it is the challenge to beat the most recent time. On May 18, 2014, Grassroots (TGP) partnered up with The Marine Corps for the second year, for the Marine Corps Historic Half (MCHH).
The half marathon was historic for TGP. When wearing our [TGP] shirts and running the 13.1 miles, we showed the world that an HIV free generation is important not only to Tyler (founder), or the athletes in TGP, but all who interact with it, near and far.
Not only did it show the spectators that this is a mission important to DC, but it reminded us (at TGP) of our impact. Emily Hall, a member of the TGP Leadership Team explains, “It was great to see all of the people with different relationships to Grassroots who wanted to run for us. For me it felt like Grassroots really does reach out beyond the student-athletes who run the programs.”
Five of our top fundraises came from Washington International School (WIS), they saw from afar the impact TGP had, and wanted to get involved. Not only did they get involved, they created a TGP club at their school. Matteo Schiltz describes their motivation, “it was really our [him and his friends] pleasure to be able to do something to help a cause [HIV] which so often leaves us feeling helpless. Our club at WIS has been very eager to get directly involved with the GRP, so when Tyler Spencer challenged us to run, we had many eager volunteers”. The team of five raised over $3,500, and wore their MCHH medals proudly.
13.1 miles, a challenge, similar to what we face when thinking about the steps needed to take for a HIV free generation; like a half marathon each training day gets us one step closer.
By Maya Barnett, TGP Communications and Events Intern
