For Immediate Release                                            Contact: Bryan Williams

                                                                                                    407.894.7325 x 106

 

Father’s Illness Inspires Woman to Run

 

(January 19, 2006) (Orlando, FL) – While most people have a hard time getting motivated for daily exercise, one woman found more than enough inspiration to train for almost a year in order  to run a marathon as well as a half-marathon over a two-day period.

 

On December 28, 2005, Elizabeth Zappi of Aventura found out her father was in complete renal failure and would need to undergo dialysis treatments three times a week for up to four hours per treatment in order to survive. After rushing her father to the emergency room one day, Elizabeth felt the need to do something to not only honor her father’s daily struggles but also help others battling the disease. “Fortunately my father has good health insurance and was able to receive treatment immediately. But I thought to myself, what about those people who aren’t as fortunate? What about those who are having a hard time?”  Elizabeth decided she would raise money by running in Disney’s Endurance Series but thought a single marathon wouldn’t be enough. Elizabeth began training to run 39.3 miles in two days, a feat Disney calls Goofy’s Race and a Half Challenge. “It was definitely a challenge,” she joked. “But when I struggled to get up at 5:00 AM every day, I would think about my father. I thought about seeing him at the finish line and that gave me the surge of energy to push forward.” When Elizabeth crossed the finish line January 8th, it was an understandably emotional event. “I was crying, the whole family was crying. But I was crying because I was happy it was over.” Unaware of why Elizabeth completed the Goofy Challenge, race officials attempted to place an award around her neck. She refused and instead took the medal and placed it over her father’s head.

 

Through the help of friends and family, Elizabeth was able to raise over $1,500 for the National Kidney Foundation of Florida, a voluntary health organization whose mission is to prevent kidney and urinary tract diseases, improve the health of people with these diseases, and promote the availability of all organs for transplantation.

 

When asked if she is going to repeat the performance next year, Elizabeth replied, “The race is something I need to forget before I do it again.” She may be able to forget the pain of the race, but she can’t escape the fact that her father won’t be able to stop dialysis treatments until a suitable organ donor is found. That’s why Elizabeth will run in the upcoming NKF of Florida 5K for Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness March 19 at Disney’s MGM Studios®. A race established to honor transplant recipients, an award is given to the top male and female transplant recipient finisher, it continues as one focused on educating the public on the importance of becoming an organ donor. "Elizabeth's accomplishment of completing both the Walt Disney World Half Marathon and Marathon on back-to-back days was an amazing feat,” Disney’s Endurance Sports Manager Heather Scott said.  “The fact that she did it to raise money for the National Kidney Foundation on behalf of her father, though, truly makes her a hero.  We hope to give hundreds more runners the chance to be heroes like Elizabeth this March at Disney's MGM Studios as Disney's Wide World of Sports teams up with the National Kidney Foundation of Florida for the National Kidney Foundation 5K for Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness.  Together we hope to help thousands more people, like Elizabeth's father, who are in need of transplants." If you would like more information on how you can raise money by running in the 5K for Organ and Tissue Donation Awareness, contact the NKF at 407.894.7325 or nkf@kidneyfla.org or you can register for the race at www.disneysports.com.