But that is exactly what a San Diego duo is doing, with Bobby Imamura pushing Point Loma’s Steve Bluhm in a wheelchair for the 26.2 miles in the 2022 New York City Marathon, the world’s largest marathon.
It’s not the first time for Imamura. Last year, Imamura ran the New York City Marathon while pushing his friend,Chris Beckette with an incredible finish time of 3:07. This qualified Imamura for the Boston Marathon, but running and traveling cross-country became too painful for Chris, so he had to bow out of the race. Bobby had hopes to run the race again for someone, which is when Steve Bluhm came into contact with him.
Together, Bobby and Steve aim to raise awareness for ALS and inspire others to live life to the fullest, despite the debilitating disease. They will be flying out from the west coast and running the NYC Marathon together, aiming to complete the race in 3 hours and 20 minutes – a feat for most normal runners who aren’t pushing someone in a wheelchair with a fatal disease.
“When I first heard about Chris and Bobby doing marathons together it gave me goosebumps, and I was thrilled to get a chance to do this with Bobby myself. I was a runner for years, but I’ve never done a marathon. It’s incredible that I get to experience the New York City marathon at age 71,” Bluhm said. “I’m also excited to get a chance to help raise awareness of ALS and bring more attention to the people suffering with this disease, and all the medical professionals, volunteers, and family members that support them.”
Team ALS runners use their miles to make a difference by raising funds and awareness for the fight for a cure. In 2021, Team ALS marathoners raised nearly $350,000 to benefit the ALS community. The annual race welcomes participants from all over the world to experience and tour the diverse neighborhoods of NYC’s five boroughs: Staten Island, Brooklyn, Queens, the Bronx, and Manhattan.
“To see Bobby and Steve come together, it’s magical,” said Steve Becvar, Vice President of Sports & Entertainment for the ALS Association. “They did not know each other prior to making the commitment for the NYC Marathon. However, they bonded right away. It’s as if they did know each other. Both are competitors, ALS is highly personal, and they are determined to impact this disease by completing the world’s largest marathon. It’s truly inspiring.”
Imamura is a highly-awarded and well-loved calculus and computer science teacher – and an accomplished coach of the South High girls’ basketball team. Bluhm is a former coach and athlete as well.
The pair of them two participating in the event will help to raise awareness for this progressive neurodegenerative disease and inspire people to live their lives to the fullest. To learn more about the ALS Association or the event, please click here.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.