Jun 27, 2022, marked the beginning of training for Still I Run’s TCS New York City Marathon team.
The team is comprised of eight runners who are all working to raise awareness for mental health and advocate for Still I Run through their 26.2 mile journey.
York, New York. The NYC Marathon will be a true testament of these runners’ stamina and
determination. For multiple team members, this will be their first marathon and provides them an opportunity to challenge themselves mentally and physically while raising awareness and
funding for mental health.
The Still I Run team line up for the 2022 NYC Marathon is comprised of the following eight
participants: Allison Nuara, Brenda Rivera, Chris Turner, Chris Vetter, Jaime Orozco, Katie
Wilkinson, Pennington Conrad, and Robert Sirotkin.
Each runner has shared with us their journey leading up to joining the team, why they wished to run for Team Still I Run, and why mental health awareness is important to them. Allison Nuara is an intermediate runner and a native to New York City. She will be completing her first marathon this November with Team Still I Run. Nuara has used running as a way to manage her overall mental health. “Running has helped me get through some of the hardest parts of my life,” stated Nuara in her Team Still I Run application. She is planning to run for herself and the millions of individuals who are struggling with their mental health every day with the hopes to inspire at least one person along the way.
Brenda Rivera is also an intermediate runner who has competed in marathons before. Rivera is from Pembroke Pines, Florida, and holds Still I Run’s mission near and dear to her heart. Rivera uses running as a way to cope with her own mental health and has first-hand seen the benefits of
running. Her goal is to represent and contribute to Still I Run as a way to raise funds and promote the benefits of running for mental health.
Chris Turner is an advanced runner who has competed in multiple marathons and is no stranger to raising funds for nonprofit organizations. Turner is from Tallahassee, Florida, and wants to use his opportunity to run for Team Still I Run as a personal way to make running mean more and go beyond himself. By sharing his story and running journey, Turner hopes to be able to help someone else struggling with their own mental health.
Chris Vetter is an advanced runner who will be competing in the NYC Marathon as his first
marathon ever. Vetter has struggled with depression and anxiety and uses running to gather his
thoughts and work through emotions. Vetter uses running to manage his anxiety levels and hopes to raise awareness for others struggling with mental health. “Everyone in this world deserves a chance, it’s our responsibility to give that to them,” wrote Vetter in his application. Vetter’s goal is to raise awareness and represent his friends and family who have also struggled with mental health.
Jaime Orozco is a Napa, California resident and advanced runner who has competed in marathons prior to the upcoming NYC marathon. Orozco is a firm believer in supporting mental health by raising funding and awareness. Running and fitness have been Orozco’s way to manage his own mental health and uses running as a platform to help others. Jaime is very familiar with raising money for mental health and has done so for One Mind, a non-profit focused on brain health, that was started by his employer Staglin Family Vineyard. With his passion for this topic, he’s taken it upon himself to use running as a catapult to raise awareness through his own life experiences with depression and anxiety.
Katie Wilkinson is an advanced runner who will be competing in her first marathon with Team Still I Run. Wilkinson currently lives in New York City, New York, and also has experience fundraising for charities. Wilkinson, who has experienced the loss of a close friend to suicide, has used running as her personal “savior” over the last few years. Team Still I Run’s mission deeply resonates with Wilkinson and is why she wants to run the TCS NYC Marathon. She is running for those who are silently struggling and fighting mental health battles on their own. She wants to live in a world where we teach younger generations that it’s okay to speak up. The NYC Marathon and running for Still I Run give Wilkinson the opportunity to continue raising awareness and implement change.
Pennington Conrad is another member of Team Still I Run. He currently lives in Washington, DC and will be competing in his first marathon as an intermediate-level runner. The Still I Run
mission is one that Conrad understands on a deeply personal level, following the loss of his brother earlier this year. Conrad’s brother, who struggled with mental health for many years, is his motivation for running and raising awareness on mental health initiatives. Conrad wishes to spread awareness in any way that he can with the hopes of impacting at least one person along his marathon journey. By sharing his story, Conrad hopes to help others understand what they or their loved ones are going through and change the stigma and patterns surrounding mental health.
Robert Sirotkin is our final Team Still I Run TCS NYC Marathon member. Sirotkin currently resides in New York, New York, and is an advanced runner ready to tackle his first ever marathon. Training for the marathon has introduced him to a new level of motivation and structure that he didn’t know he needed. He’s learned a lot about himself and the training process along this journey which is part of why running for Team Still I Run is so important to him. Sirotkin wants to promote the benefits of running for mental health and use this opportunity as a platform to do so. Because of the powerful impact running has had on him individually, he can’t think of a better way to raise money or awareness.
As the runners train and prepare for the mental and physical challenge they will be facing
November 6, 2022, they are keeping in mind their friends, families, and the millions of
Americans who are impacted by mental health. The NYC Marathon and Team Still I Run are
looking for support on their journey to the finish line. We encourage you to follow along through
our blog posts and social media platforms, as well as fundraising and following each runner to
learn more about their story and training process.
We want to recognize and do a shoutout for the amazing businesses that have stepped up to sponsor our NYC team and runners! Please go check them out!
