Willie Zempel
Feature/Entertainment Editor
ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, affects people everywhere, even in Webster Groves. WGHS’s 12th annual Jim Schoemehl 5K Run on May 4 is a benefit for the ALS Association.
The run will help Karen Crawford, a single mother with ALS and a five-year-old daughter. Seventy percent of proceeds go to the Crawford family, and 30 percent go to the ALS Association. The run will help fund physical therapy, a ramp and deck for Crawford’s home, increased aid and a hands-free technology phone.
“I met the Crawford family. They’re amazing,” senior Alan Smith said. “Everyone should run, volunteer or even just donate for the run if they can’t go. It’s for a great cause.”
Fees to run are $10 for students, $20 for adults and $25 for registering on race day. Students are also encouraged to volunteer.
The 5K run starts at 8 a.m. in the senior parking lot, and runners run a route around Webster.
A new event called the Selma Sprint runs from the northern to southern WGHS entrances. There are two sprints: one for ages six and under and one for ages seven to nine.
DECA organizes the event. The run started when a marketing teacher’s husband, Jim Schoemehl, was diagnosed with ALS in 2001. “Jim lost his battle with ALS, but his legacy lives on in the annual run,” jims5krun.com said. Each year the run supports a new family.
“We’re hoping for at least 600 people to run this year. I hope everyone can come,” Smith said.
