I Run 4 Leland

Gear for the races in Leland's favorite color!

This weekend I'll be starting off November with 2 back to back 5k races.  Tomorrow I'll be running the Carrera de los Muertos 5k which is a Day of the Dead themed race in Pilsen and following it up with the Hot Chocolate 5k on Sunday (yes, they give out chocolate!).  These races are pretty important to me for a few reasons, first of all they're the start to the month of my 1 year runniversary.  It was back in November of 2012 that I first set out to do a 5k and here I am a year later with 5 races lined up for the month.  I guess you could say I'm kind of hooked.  Another reason these particular races are special to me is that they will be my first time running now that I have a buddy to run for.  His name is Leland, his favorite color is purple and he has epilepsy.

Purple is also the color for Epilepsy awareness

Did you know that November is Epilepsy Awareness Month?  Up until a few days ago I didn't either.  Through the organization I Run 4, I was matched with one of the most precious children I've ever seen and in the short time we've been matched I've learned quite a bit.  His mother teaches me something new every time we chat.  You see, my little buddy Leland has been having seizures since he was 9 months old, maybe even younger.  He's now 3 years old and experiencing even longer absence and grand mal seizures.  His seizures can last from a couple of minutes to 5 hours.  Thankfully he has a beautiful and loving family to take care of him and big brother who likes to help out.  

Since learning about his seizures I've started reading up as much as I can.  I realized how little I knew about seizures, what types there are and what to do if I ever encounter someone having a seizure.  One of the most surprising things I read was that 1 in 10 adults will have a seizure sometime in their life.  To read a bit more and learn about epilepsy check out epilepsyfoundation.org

My buddy Leland!