Marathon canceled, hope restored
By Michael Johnson, Editor
What was meant to be one of Jeff Turning Heart Jr.’s greatest accomplishments in athleticism turned into an opportunity to accomplish something even greater. He made a trip to New York City to run in the New York City Marathon with a group of runners from the Pine Ridge Reservation area in South Dakota. As you know, Hurricane Sandy pounded the east coast last week, the same time that the marathon was to begin. You may also know that the marathon was canceled because of the extreme amount of damage. After months of training, months of work with the group One Spirit to plan the run and a near life-long dream to run a marathon, everything came crashing down like the waves into the Jersey shore. At first, the group of runners were in dismay from the news. “We were upset and disappointed,” Turning Heart Jr. said. It was the culminating run to the long list of runs he took part in in 2012 for charities. But looking around, the group knew they could still accomplish great things while there. One Spirit is a charity devoted to helping the Lakota Sioux in South Dakota. Specifically, the goal of the run was to raise funds for a youth center in Allen, S.D. But the people of the Pine Ridge Reservation also suffer from basic needs like food and wood.
