Giving Meaning to Marathons

Steve Blume with his son, Jason, and his daughter, Shelley, who all raised money as St. Jude Heroes.



Steve Blume is passionate about two things: running and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. He has combined these passions into action that has had a real impact on his fellow running enthusiasts and the children of St. Jude.





Blume, 59, of Brentwood, Tennessee, leads running groups that train for the St. Jude Country Music Marathon in Nashville and the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend. Over the last two years, Blume and his groups of St. Jude Heroes have raised almost $70,000 for St. Jude. “I live this, and I breathe it,” he said.

As charity athletes, St. Jude Heroes raise funds for St. Jude through pledges and donations while preparing to compete. Blume even started a blog to offer fundraising tips to fellow St. Jude Heroes at heroeshelper.blogspot.com.

This athlete-turned-fundraiser came to running late in life. A 6’4” defensive tackle for Memphis State University in the 1970s, Blume was stunned when his doctor in 2006 classified him as obese. He entered a local weight-loss contest, changed his diet and began running on the treadmill, which helped him to lose more than 60 pounds.

Spurred on by these results, Blume continued running and completed his first marathon the following year in Nashville. After multiple half marathons, he decided in 2011 to run another marathon and selected the St. Jude Memphis Marathon without knowing much about the hospital.



"To go back to Memphis where I played football as a lineman in the 1970s and to finish a full marathon in the top 25 percent at my age would be kind of a statement for me,” he said. Instead, the marathon made a statement to him. “At most races when you run people are yelling, ‘Come on, you can do it.’ At St. Jude they were yelling ‘Thank you.’ Even though I wasn’t a Hero, I felt involved; I felt I was doing something.”

Blume decided to really make a difference and started raising funds as a St. Jude Hero, as well as training groups to run both marathons. His training sessions are free as long as group participants are running as St. Jude Heroes or donating to a St. Jude Hero. “If you are in my group, at water stops you are going to learn about St. Jude and what the hospital does and what the kids do,” Blume said.

“My commitment to St. Jude started with that first race, but it has strengthened so much since then. If you dig a little, you learn more about St. Jude and that builds your belief system.”

If you are interested in being a St. Jude Hero, sign up now for the St. Jude Memphis Marathon® Weekend.



Source: http://www.stjude.org.ve/stjude/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=1999a14a2ba65410VgnVCM100000290115acRCRD



from paul_fjeldsted http://paul-fjeldsted.livejournal.com/7815.html