2012 ING NYC Marathon
ONE Spirit will sponsor 5 Lakota runners to compete in the ING NYC Marathon on November 4th. These young men and one woman are truly modern day heroes who against all odds are competing in the most prestigious marathon in the world to raise funds for the Allen Youth Center and to let other Lakota youth know that they can realize their dreams. To download our flyer click here.
Kelsey Good Lance, Alex Wilson, Jeff Turning Heart Jr., Nupa White Plume and Amanda Carlow will travel to New York with their coach, Dale Pine. These young men are truly impressive and we are proud to introduce them to you. Unfortunately, TeeJay Cottier won't run in the marathon. Amanda Carlow will take over his place.
Please show your support for these young men and woman and for Lakota youth.
100% of all donations go to help build the youth center.
We thank all of the ONE Spirit donors for your contributions in making this happen
and hope you will keep these young men in your thoughts going forward!
Kelsey Good Lance lives in the Oglala area of the reservation and is presently completing his GED. When we met Kelsey on the reservation, he talked about his desire to be a role model and inspiration for other Lakota youth.
Kelsey says the Lakota people have always been runners and he hopes to be a positive role model for young children on the reservation by encouraging them to pursue running instead of gangs or alcohol that are so frequently a problem for Lakota youth. He also runs to honor his family and his People- he even dreams of running and wakes up smiling!
Kelsey is being helped by coaches Dale Pine and Lynelle Long, also from Pine Ridge. When we mentioned to them that Kelsey had WALKED THE 15 MILES TO THE INTERVIEW IN 90* HEAT, they said, “ Yep- that’s Kelsey!” We’re so proud of this young man and we applaud him for courage.
Alex Wilson is an accomplished runner who placed fifth in the State Cross Country when he was only in the eighth grade and went on to win the State championship in that event as a high school senior. Alex has continued to run and wants to inspire other youth on the reservation to follow their dreams.
Jeff Turning Heart Jr. currently lives in North Dakota. He was born and raised on the Cheyenne River Reservation in Eagle Butte, South Dakota and has been running since the age of 12. Jeff recently wrote to us about himself:
“Running for me started at a young age, at around 12 years old, I ran my first race at a powwow in Bear Creek, South Dakota and was hooked ever since. But after watching an older athletic cousin at a track meet, I would tell myself that one day, I would be doing that, and I did. I have competed in Junior high, high school and college and have continued running throughout my adult life.”
“After college, I was injured and hurt, I had a tumor taken out of my neck twice and dealing with the aftermath since. But after a silver lining, I found my way back to my passion. I started competing in road races and eventually started running races for charities, like cancer survivors, patients, cerebral palsy, cystic fibrosis, diabetes, lupus, suicide prevention, big brothers of America, kids from broken homes, and now, the ONE Spirit organization.”
“Running fills in the gaps in my life and has kept me away from gang life, drugs and other bad habits. I am not a long distance runner but I learn to adapt because no matter the race, I let my passion guide me, never the fear of the unknown.“
Amanda Carlow has joined Team ONE Spirit as Runner Number 5. Amanda teaches at Red Cloud School on Pine Ridge Reservation and is the Cross Country Coach. She has a long history of running, including marathons and is a Sundancer.
After a recent phone call invite Amanda Carlow has announced her decision to join Team ONE Spirit and the New York Marathon adventure in November. She will join team members Nupa White Plume, Alex Wilson, Kelsey Good Lance and Jeff Turning Heart Jr. The trip is sponsored by ONE Spirit and founder Jeri Baker. The runners have been in training all summer and each is already involved in various running competitions. Carlow recently returned from a team marathon run. ONE Spirit director Jeri Baker said “We are excited to have her along and look forward to a lady on the team. It’s great to have a woman join and be an inspiration for all the Native American women and the Lakota people”. It was all kind of a fast paced day on Thursday afternoon for Amanda who got the call Thursday morning, then was asked to come and do an interview that evening with the reporters from the New York City Road Runner magazine. Carlow just returned from a marathon, is a teacher at Red Cloud Indian School and also the Cross Country coach and now soon to be running down the streets of the Big Apple. The entire picture is starting to hit now at this point as runners make travel arrangements and look into being the first Lakota to run in this Marathon.
Team ONE Spirit will be coached and assisted by Dale Pine. The Oglala Tribal finance has voted unanimously to fully support the runners who will represent the Oglala Lakota Tribe, Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, and the entire State of South Dakota. It will be a national representation and a great time of pride for Native Americans everywhere. The ONE Spirit organization is sponsoring the event to draw awareness to helping the Lakota youth and those in need on the Pine Ridge Indian reservation and other reservations throughout South Dakota.
Welcome Amanda to the team!!
Nupa White Plume is one of the five Lakota marathon runners to represent ONE Spirit in the NYC Marathon on Nov. 4, 2012. He has been running since he was 8 or 9 years old and enjoys training in spite of the extreme heat wave Pine Ridge is experiencing. Nupa says that on the days he runs, it’s best to go out early in the morning, but training for a marathon doesn’t mean running every day. He does work out every day though, by doing sit ups, push ups, lunges, etc. to work on his conditioning. Nupa may also be competing in the Lakota Nation 10k run the first of August.
This year on July 4th, a young lady of the Oglala Nation already took part in a marathon, the Seward Mount Marathon in Alaska. Click here to read her story.
