Meet Our Heroes
You Too Can Get Involved and Become a JOA Hero
Marrissa Mehwald, Triathlon, Sept 2009
When I decided to run my triathlon for John Owen, I had looked back on the 19 years of my own life. What stood out were all of the memories that I have been so lucky to have, but also how fast time has flown by and how short life seems for how much I still want to accomplish. When my dad gave me the news about John Owen I did a lot of research on his condition. I looked at John Owen's life and the fact that there is a time limit placed on it. John Owen NEEDS enough time to live every moment that he deserves; moments as simple as a senior prom, or as great as walking onto a college campus. John Owen and his family deserve these memories more than anyone I know. With funding for research there is hope for a cure, and any small part will lead closer to that cure. I ran to raise $3,000 dollars to give John Owen hope, and to never take life for granted.
Julie Reardon, Run for Our Sons, May 2009 and Sept 2010
Why run for John Owen? In February 2008, when John Owen was diagnosed with DMD, my heart broke for him and his family. I immediately signed up to receive the Parent Project Muscular Dystrophy (PPMD) emails. When I would see Jen, I would ask about Owen and every time I would tear up, as if there was nothing to look forward to. I received emails from PPMD promoting Run for our Sons; I had always wanted to run for a cause but never had one that I felt connected to. Finally the email came, Jen asking if any runners she knew would be willing to run for John Owen. From that moment I was off running and fundraising. God moved to do this, so I prayed with each step that I ran, for God to give them to John Owen so that he can keep walking. I ran because I had to do something for my friend and it is exactly what I can do. The tears of despair in my eyes have been replaced by twinkles of hope for John Owen’s future!
Lori Ann Soukup, Chicago Marathon, Oct 2010
Jen Dumm is one of my dearest friends and I care deeply for her and her family. Upon learning of John Owen’s journey I have been supporting the family from afar with my hopes and prayers for a cure and strength for the family to handle all of the challenges along the way. I say from afar because as we all know life is hectic. Working full time and raising two kids doesn't leave me much time to participate in many fundraising events. I try and always wished I could do more. One thing I always find time for is running because it keeps me balanced! So when I saw there was an opportunity to run the Chicago Marathon on behalf of John Owen while raising funds to help find a cure - I immediately signed up. Training for a marathon is a lot of time and miles - a good amount of my motivation to keep running came from thoughts of others that aren't able to run and a good amount of the time running I prayed that John Owen would benefit from a cure and never lose his ability to run or walk. I raised $1,350, finished the race and keep John Owen and family in my prayers always! I'm still running and I always will as long as I'm capable. It is difficult to think that if a cure is not found for John Owen, and others, that they will not be able to run or walk. I will always support the cause and hope others will continue or are inspired to start supporting the cause as well. Love you with all my heart Dumm Family!!
Alicia Szczesniak, MoJo Marathon, Oct 2011
The MoJoe Marathon raised more than $6000 and had 98 runners! Most notably was St. Albert’s 3rd grader, Alicia Szczesniak, who brought in over $1000 in pledges on her own. Alicia even had pledges from other young children who really stepped up when asked. After hearing about the MoJoe Marathon, Alicia says she felt compelled to help John Owen.
“I wanted to help my schoolmate feel better and stop his disease and I wanted to spend time outside with my dad," she said.
Joe Vasil, MoJo Marathon, Oct 2011
I was inspired to run to end Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy after learning about Julie Reardon’s marathon. I wanted to do something worthwhile with my passion for running, and I feel fortunate to have been guided to this cause. This experience has been amazing. All I really did was ask and a lot of really good people that I know and don't know stepped up. I am very proud to be part of this great community. Going forward, I hope to give others both the gift of running, and the gift of realizing how easy it is to make a difference. This is what I learned this year, and I grew spiritually more than I have at any point in my life along the way.