April 6, 2015
For immediate release
Contact:
John Schumacher
schumacher@runsra.org
After five surgeries, Timmy Brown plans to enter SACTOWN event
Timmy Brown was only 2 ½ years old when he came to UC Davis Children’s Hospital in January of 2012. Diagnosed with a brain tumor (medulloblastoma), he underwent five surgeries, endured six months of chemotherapy and tolerated multiple hospital stays typically lasting a week at a time.
Three years later, his prognosis is good. Timmy, 5, plans to run in the Miracle Mile near the state Capitol on Sunday, April 12 as part of the fifth annual Credit Union SACTOWN Five- and Ten-Mile Run.
His mother, Maryanne Brown, remains extremely grateful for the treatment and care Timmy received. So she’s happy to have him participate in an event that helps raise money for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, which includes UC Davis Children’s Hospital.
“They (UC Davis staff) were absolutely amazing,” Brown said. “Michelle Adams, his primary care nurse, she was like an angel to us. She made sure I was OK and our family was OK. She made sure Timmy was having as normal a childhood as he could.
“All the nurses were very caring, very loving.”
Brown remembers, because having a young child in the hospital with a serious medical problem changes your perspective quickly.
“I couldn’t allow myself to look into the future,” she said. “For me it was like survival mode. We were just day to day.
“The hospital was like our second home.”
Now, she and her husband Mark have their charismatic, sweet and rambunctious boy doing well back home in Rancho Cordova, playing with his 9-year-old brother James, watching “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” and refusing to take no for an answer.
The SACTOWN event, which emulates the Credit Union Cherry Blossom Ten Mile Run held in Washington, D.C. on the same day, has raised more than $400,000 in the last three years.
The race is put on by the Sacramento Running Association and sponsored by local credit unions.
Credit Unions for Kids is the brand under which America’s credit unions and affiliated organizations fundraise for Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals. To date, credit unions have raised more than $100 million since the introduction of the CU4Kids program back in 1996.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals is an affiliation of children’s hospitals throughout the country. Each year these non-profit hospitals provide state-of-the-art care, cutting edge research and preventative health education.
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals treat more than 17 million patients each year, including 98 percent of all children needing heart or lung transplants and 88 percent of all children with cancer.
The SACTOWN 10-mile race begins at 8:25 a.m. and the five-mile run at 8 a.m. The UC Davis Children’s Hospital Miracle Mile is set for 7:30 a.m.
Registration is available at www.sactown10.org. Cost for the 10-miler is $60 through April 11 and $65 on race day. The five-miler costs $50 through April 11 and $55 on race day.
The Miracle Mile is free to kids 12 and under until April 11 and $10 at packet pickup and on race day. The cost for adults is $10 until April 11 and $15 on race day. The five-mile race includes the Credit Union Team competition, with the lowest combined time for all three team members determining the winner.
The new SACTOWN course retains a start and finish near the state Capitol, goes through downtown Sacramento and crosses the Tower Bridge into West Sacramento before re-crossing the bridge back into Sacramento.
SACTOWN serves as USA Track & Field’s Pacific Association Ten-Mile Championship.
The Sacramento Running Association is a non-profit organization dedicated to finding ways to encourage people of all ages and abilities to run. The SRA is committed to developing new, quality running events that appeal to a broad variety of runners.
Other SRA events include the Gold Rush 50k on May 9, the California International Marathon on Dec. 6 and the Super Sunday Run on Feb. 7.