Team Thrive Ran the 2022 Chicago Marathon
On the chilly fall morning of October 9, spectators lined the streets patiently waiting to cheer on their friends and family running in the 2022 Bank of America Chicago Marathon. At the corner of Taylor Street and Halsted Street, Hope for the Day staff members and volunteers huddled under the Hope for the Day tent ready to support the runners as they sped by.
Hope for the Day’s Chicago Marathon Crew Team Thrive had 23 runners set to run the 26.2 miles throughout the city that day. One of whom was Jill Perry who said she felt special with all the support on the sidelines.
“My favorite part was the number of little kids that put their hands out for high fives and how I felt like a celebrity running down slapping kids hands,” Perry said.
This was Perry’s second year running for Team Thrive. As a therapist and a Hope for the Day volunteer, Perry’s choice to join Team Thrive again felt natural.
“I love everything that Hope for the Day stands for,” Perry said. “The mission and the process and the approach that Hope for the Day uses to proactively address mental health needs is really important. … So it was important to me to run and run for a cause that supports something that I personally believe is incredibly important.”
All the runners on Team Thrive showed their support for the cause through their outstanding fundraising efforts throughout the past year. Together Team Thrive raised over $40,000 for Hope for the Day’s proactive suicide prevention projects.
To help the runners prepare for their big day, coaches Chelsea Wellmann and Jonathan Koch were there to provide advice along the way. For Wellmann, this has been the perfect opportunity to combine her passions.
“Having the opportunity to combine my love for running with these great causes that Hope for the Day supports is honestly just the best thing I could ever ask for,” Wellmann said. “Because running has been so helpful for my own mental health and I want other people to be able to use that as their outlet too, if they can.”
Running acts as an outlet for many people, including Perry. She said she’ll often go for a run when she feels like crying because the rhythm of her feet hitting the ground with each stride is soothing to her.
“[Running] helps my anxiety,” Perry said. “It helps me relieve stress and tension, but it also gives me that level of social connectedness that's so, so important.”
That sense of community is palpable on race day with the outpouring of encouragement from everyone in the crowd — whether they are total strangers or the closest friends. It’s also clear that all the runners are rooting for each other.
That camaraderie was present on Team Thrive, according to Wellmann. With group runs and training, runners were able to become friends.
“It's so refreshing because not only are these people training for a marathon they're doing it for such a great cause,” Wellmann said. “You're hearing their personal stories, they're hearing why they love Hope for the Day, and it's so uplifting to see a community like that come together.”
Thank you and congratulations on all your hard work to our 2022 Team Thrive Marathon Crew:
Abigail Jackson
Alyssa Zajaczkowski
Amanda Rainaldi
Amy Crocker
Brian Wright
Christopher Mayor
Elizabeth M Cerven
Francisco Huerta
Gabrielle Gazzola
Jason Basa Nemec
Jill Perry
Jose Fierro
Lisa Folkers
Maira Cano
Maggie Kohler
Maura Curtis
Megan McGlynn
Michael Shields
Sara McIsaac
Shawndra Umbarger
Skylar Curtis
Sofia Cano
Tim Mokry
Registration will begin soon for the 2023 Chicago Marathon. If you’re interested in learning more about running for Team Thrive in the 2023 Chicago Marathon, please fill out the form here.