BIG ED PASSES THE TORCH AFTER 15 MARATHONS, SICK KIDS GET A NEW RUNNER THIS YEAR.Byline: DENNIS McCARTHY Dennis McCarthy may refer to:
WEST HILLS - His knees may be too shot to run or walk the Los Angeles Marathon The Los Angeles Marathon is an annual marathon held in Los Angeles, California since 1986. It was inspired by the success of the 1984 Summer Olympics held in Los Angeles. The race starts at about 8:15AM and runs through Downtown Los Angeles, Koreatown, the Crenshaw district, and , but there's nothing wrong with Big Ed's heart. He'd crawl To search the Internet for hosts, Web pages or blogs. See crawler. the 26.2 miles Sunday for his kids - if his doctor would let him. But she won't, so for the first time in 16 years - ever since there's been a Los Angeles Marathon - 75-year-old Ed Rasky of West Hills won't be in it. Someone else will be running in his place for the kids dying of cancer who this retired school teacher has been hoisting up on his strong shoulders in spirit for the past 15 Los Angeles Marathons, and carrying across the finish line in his heart. More than 200 terminally ill Terminally Ill When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. children who, courtesy of Big Ed's pledges from running the marathon, have been treated to a few glorious, fun-filled weeks at Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times in Idyllwild before they died. ``Ed is a remarkable man,'' said Carol Horvitz, director of development for the camp, which is only partially underwritten by McDonald's Corp. The bulk of the funds to keep the camp free for terminally ill kids comes from individual contributions. ``Long after others have packed away their tennis shoes tennis shoes npl → zapatillas fpl de tenis tennis shoes npl → (chaussures fpl de) tennis mpl tennis shoes tennis and running shorts Running shorts are a specialized form of shorts worn by runners. Materials Running shorts are made from materials which will be comfortable worn by an exercising human. , Ed is still out there, sacrificing his body and soul for our kids,'' she said. But not this year. Reluctantly, Ed's passing the torch - but only on his doctor's orders "Doctor's Orders" is the title of an episode from the third season of the television series . Its episode number is 068, and it first aired on 18 February 2004. Plot summary This is a summary of the beginning portion of the episode. . ``I feel like there's this big empty space inside me, and it's been tough, very tough,'' he said from his home Wednesday, waiting for 35-year-old, first-time marathoner Steve Gittelson to arrive. Gittelson's a friend of Ed's niece NIECE, domestic relations: The daughter of a person's brother or sister. Amb. 514; 1 Jacob's Ch. R. 207. , and is running the marathon to honor the pledges Big Ed has already collected this year before he knew he couldn't make it. ``I was already training for my first marathon, but now that I'm doing it for charity, it has redoubled re·dou·ble v. re·dou·bled, re·dou·bling, re·dou·bles v.tr. 1. To double. 2. To repeat. 3. Games To double the doubling bid of (an opponent) in bridge. v. my determination and effort to finish for these kids,'' said Gittelson, a salesman for a wholesale fabric company. Ed says he knew the pounding of training and running 22 marathons was taking a toll on his knees, but he thought he could still make the race this year, even if he had to walk it. He called the hundreds of friends, relatives, and acquaintances - from his barber to his grocer - who have chipped in small pledges that have added up to more than $100,000 the last 15 years, and told them he wasn't feeling all that well. ``I told them I might have to walk the 26 miles, but they didn't care,'' he said. ``The important thing to them wasn't that I run or walk it. The important thing was that these kids got to camp.'' Still, Ed gave it his best shot. Last week, his doctor said that if he could walk 13 miles with no ill effects, she'd let him walk the marathon. ``I walked the 13 miles and felt great,'' Ed said. ``The next day, I was in the hospital. And that was that.'' Big Ed's running days may be over, but he will continue volunteering a couple of weeks at Camp Ronald McDonald every summer to help the kids learn archery archery, sport of shooting with bow and arrow, an important military and hunting skill before the introduction of gunpowder. England's Charles II fostered archery as sport, establishing in 1673 the world's oldest continuous archery tournament, the Ancient Scorton , he said. In the meantime Adv. 1. in the meantime - during the intervening time; "meanwhile I will not think about the problem"; "meantime he was attentive to his other interests"; "in the meantime the police were notified" meantime, meanwhile , he'll continue looking around for some dedicated runners who will pick up the mantle for his kids in the future, after he's gone. ``If I could find six runners who weren't the bashful bash·ful adj. 1. Shy, self-conscious, and awkward in the presence of others. See Synonyms at shy1. 2. Characterized by, showing, or resulting from shyness, self-consciousness, or awkwardness. type, I'd be in heaven,'' Big Ed said. ``I would give them training and encouragement, but they'd have to do what I've done - tell everyone this is the cause I'm running for, and I need your pledge.'' Because the Los Angeles Marathon is not about time, not about winning, not even about running or walking, he says. To him, it's all about some kids who won't be around next year. It's about giving them the best time of their short lives at a camp where only smiles and laughs are allowed, no tears. If that's the kind of marathon you want to run in the future, or the kind of effort you want to back with a few bucks, give Big Ed a call at (818) 883-2578. He'd love to hear from you. If you're too shy, send a pledge to his home made out to Camp Ronald McDonald - 22503 Welby Way, West Hills, CA 91307. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Big Ed Rasky, left, jokes with first-time marathoner Steve Gittelson about the possibility he'll be running in the rain at the L.A. Marathon this weekend. Below, Rasky's collection of L.A. Marathon medals for 15 years of participation. Charlotte Schmid-Maybach/Staff Photographer |
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