M E D I A A D V I S O R Y
Boston teacher to lead final training run with her students before traveling to Africa for 155-mile “ultra-marathon”
Liz Byron will run the “toughest footrace on earth” through the Sahara Desert
to raise money for classroom laptops
Monday, April 1, 2013
1:00 p.m.
Gardner Pilot Academy
30 Athol St., Allston, MA 02134 (map)
ALLSTON, MA — Next week, Boston special education teacher Liz Byron will travel to the Sahara Desert to run the 155-mile, six-day Marathon de Sables, considered the toughest footrace on the planet. She will compete with runners from around the world in this “self-supporting ultra-marathon,” carrying all of her provisions on her back while running in scorching heat over rocks and sand.
Liz is undertaking this challenge to raise $50,000 to buy laptop computers for students in her sixth grade classroom at Gardner Pilot Academy, an urban public school in Allston. She recently passed the halfway mark in her fundraising efforts. http://www.runforlaptops.org
On Monday, April 1, just hours before Liz leaves for the airport, the school will host a student assembly, in which Liz will describe the race to an auditorium full of students, using the opportunity for lessons in geography and physical fitness. After the assembly, students will join Liz outside to run laps around the school for a final warm-up run. Later, she will begin her 35-hour journey, including three flights, to arrive in Morocco for the start of the race on Sunday, April 7.
Liz is a 2006 graduate of Boston College, where she starred for four years on the swim team as a record-setting sprint specialist, two-time swimming and diving MVP, and Academic All-American.
For more information, contact Chris Horan, chris@horancommunications.com, 617-852-1340.