31.5 Miles of Teamwork to Honor our Nation's Fallen Heroes

By Mia Mashburn

On June 23, 2013 the Stroller Warriors® of Camp Pendleton joined forces to run a 31.5-mile relay in honor of our nation’s fallen heroes. With an American flag as our baton Stroller Warriors ran from inland Oceanside, California, through Camp Pendleton, finishing at the beautiful historic site of the first known Christian baptism in California, within the gates of Camp Pendleton.

Our journey began long before that special day, and did not end that day either. Our relay is a testament to the value of team, and an affirmation that there is no contribution too small.

It all started when a Camp Pendleton Stroller Warrior made a quick post about an organization named Active Heroes, and their Memory Miles initiative. Memory Miles is a, “National Challenge to remember our fallen heroes and to help Military Families across the Nation … by walking, running, hiking or biking to complete miles in memory of our Nation’s fallen Heroes and to raise funds for military families in need” (http://activeheroes.org/memory-miles/).  Active Heroes is a tremendous organization intent on, “Connecting and helping America’s military families through physical and mental therapy, home repairs and community outreach, financial assistance and community reintegration to halt the triggering points and stress associated with “hard times” that lead to suicide” (http://activeheroes.org/about/).  According to their website, Active Heroes has reached over 1,800 military families. With suicide attempts among veterans reported to be on the rise, the efforts of Active Heroes, to alleviate financial and emotional stressors, are of the utmost importance.

Stroller Warriors could have registered individually and made our own private contributions to Active

Heroes. Being the amazing team Stroller Warriors is, we had different plans. We decided to organize a relay, honoring fallen heroes as we ran, and fundraise as a team to make the biggest contribution we could. Our mission was to reach as many people as possible to raise awareness for this worthy cause and help others’ take time to reflect on the sacrifice of our service members.

As Stroller Warriors reached out to family and friends across the country to help raise funds and awareness for Active Heroes, planning was underway for what felt like a huge logistical undertaking. We

developed a route broken down in to eight legs of varying distances. The shortest leg was two miles, and the longest leg was about 6.5 miles. This allowed for Stroller Warriors of all ability levels to participate. Most of our runners completed multiple legs, some running a half marathon or more.

Relay day was amazing. We saw a strong showing of dedicated military spouses, supporting each other as they escorted the flag through the course. There were many horns honked in support, a few “Oorah’s”, cheering from Oceanside fire fighters, and incredibly

a salute! We had estimated finish times for each leg.

Impressively, we finished within two minutes of our estimated time of 5.5 hours. With runners of all abilities and paces, this was quite a feat! Our relay would not have been possible without the support of our volunteers. We had Stroller Warriors shuttling runners from their finish back to their starting points, hydrating our runners with water bottles covered in motivational messages, cheering, and taking pictures. Our

warrior spouses were out in force as well. We had dads tending to kiddos, shuttling runners to starting points, and cheering for their special stroller warrior as we came in to the finish.

One of the indelible memories of the day was seeing the names of fallen heroes worn by our runners. These brave men and women answered the call for service and gave their lives for their fellow warriors and

our way of life. While we were running I could not help but feel overwhelmed with gratitude, humbled by the bravery of our service members, and heartbreak for our Gold Star families living with the loss of their loved one.  It is imperative that while we remember our fallen heroes, we hold up the loved ones they left behind.

From inception to completion, every part of this effort was the contribution of a Stroller Warrior, friend, and

family member. Compared to the magnitude of the service of those we honored, and the mission of the cause we support, our relay felt like a small moment.  However, as we learned from the efforts of our runners, donors, and volunteers: every
bit counts, and every bit helps. There is no contribution too small.

Our original goal for Active Heroes was $2,000. At the end of our relay, SWCP and supporters blasted the original goal out of the water, raising $3,850 for the cause.  With the closing of our biggest team effort to date, it’s not necessarily the dollar totals that will stay with me forever (in all honesty, I actually had to look up our totals again while writing this).  The main aspect of this effort that has left a permanent impression on my heart is the power and conviction of the military spouse. As military families, we do not have a lot of say in the where’s or the when’s: change of assignments, change of station, deployments, and training. In the face of these challenges, Stroller Warriors

do not recoil. What this relay shows is that Stroller Warriors are proactive and ask, “How can I help?” They focus their efforts on what they can control and how they can contribute. Whether it is a high five on a run, shuttling between relay legs, passing out water, community service, supporting one another through hardship – Stroller Warriors focus on what we CAN accomplish.

To contribute to Active Heroes, please visit their website activeheroes.org.

~ Mia

"The willingness with which our young people are likely to serve in any war, no matter how justified, shall be directly proportional to how they perceive the Veterans of earlier wars were treated and appreciated by their nation." President George Washington

Mia Mashburn is a Marine Corps wife, Mother of twin boys, and coordinator for Stroller Warriors® Camp Pendleton. Since their kickoff workout in April of 2012, SWCP has grown to over 800 members and has raised thousands of dollars for charity and members of the military community. To help them meet (and exceed) their fundraising goal for their second team relay on Saturday, June 21 to support the Semper Fi Fund please visit http://www.donationto.com/Stroller-Warrior-Support-for-Semper-Fi-Fund.