Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon Runners Against Drunk Driving Graduate
(Written by Marlon WhiteEagle – Staff Writer)
On December 3, the 2011, fifteen Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon Runners Against Drunk Driving and two old-timers graduated by completing their twenty mile training run in preparation to compete and finish the Honolulu Marathon. The group has been running since 1999 in memory of Louella Blackdeer.
Louella’s story:
Louella was a very determined teenager and she struggled with today's pressures and she had often taken the wrong path. When Louella found running, everything in her whole world changed. She became a more positive person, she worked hard to do her best, she believed in herself. The 1999 Honolulu Marathon was the first of many she said. It was her moment in life; she saw what life could be if she focused herself and worked towards her goal.
Louella along with three school friends had attended their first prom, after a festive night of fun they were taking Louella home. During this evening, they had not been drinking alcohol and using drugs. In the early morning hours on May 7, 2000 the disease of alcoholism reared its ugly head in the form of a repeat drunk driver, this disease killed Louella and her three friends. Everything Louella and her friends and their families had planned for them in life came to an abrupt end. She could have gone to college on a scholarship, she could have made the Olympic Team, and she could have…….
In life Louella often felt insecure and unwanted by her peers, she never had the chance to find out how wrong her thinking was. Almost the entire high school body came to her funeral. We honor her memory, tell her story, run for her and continue the tradition of our team of hard work and self-sacrifice. We will finish this marathon for her and ourselves. We are family and we will remember our sister.
WE ARE THE HO-CHUNK YOUTH MARATHON RUNNERS AGAINST DRUNK DRIVING.
Erwin Begay, Coach of the Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon RADD Runner’s, is an Army veteran, Navajo, and husband to Faye Begay (nee Thunder), and has been coaching the group for twelve years. Begay ran the Honolulu Marathon in 1994. It was then, that he thought it would be nice to see native youth runners competing in the marathon. Begay thought running would help the youth focus on something positive. After retiring from the Army as an Infantry Instructor, Begay moved to Wisconsin with his wife Faye and began working as a Youth Coordinator. While working with the Ho-Chunk youth, Begay saw the late Louella Blackdeer running down a dirt road and was reminded of his thought when he ran the ’94 Honolulu Marathon. That’s the inspiration of the Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon Runners.
Begay’s Assistant Coach, Lani Blackdeer, is the mother of Louella Blackdeer. Louella and five other Ho-Chunk youth comprised the first group of runners. Lani supported Louella’s running because she saw how it made her a better person. Lani thought the running group could help youth who thought they didn’t fit in (with their peers) or who were unable to deal with realities of life. Louella and the first group of runners completed the 1999 Honolulu Marathon and fulfilled Begay’s dream of native youth competing in the marathon.
The 2011 training began on August 27 in Black River Falls, Wisconsin, at the old Wal-Mart parking lot. The next fourteen weeks would be rigorous training to gear up for and complete the Honolulu marathon. Each runner had a sponsor to help throughout the training; providing the runners to get to each run, to provide a secure run route, to man water stations, to transport runners for bathroom breaks, and to escort them to Honolulu for the marathon. In order to participate in the marathon trip, each runner had to complete the assigned mileage per week.
The Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon Runners, coaches, and sponsors departed for Honolulu at 4 a.m. on December 7. Aqua Bamboo Waikiki served as the group’s home away from home. Each morning the runners ran thirty to forty minutes. The group also participated in events such as: a Luau at Paradise Cove, a tribute to Louella, a visit to Hawaii Cultural Center, USS Arizona Memorial, a flea market, and a pasta feed for runners and coaches. The marathon started at 5 am on December 11. The day after the marathon, the runners had a photo session and enjoyed a free day to recuperate. The group arrived back to Black River Falls on December 14.
The Ho-Chunk Youth Marathon Runners Against Drunk Driving has been a story of inspiration to many. In 2002, Coach Begay and the runners were the recipients of the Wisconsin State Legislature’s Hometown Hero Award by recommendation of State Representative Terry Musser.
The story is also going to be featured in an upcoming film entitled, Blackdeer. Coaches Begay and Blackdeer are assisting in the scriptwriting by providing details and personal accounts. Adam Beach has signed on to play Coach Erwin Begay. Beach met with Begay when he visited Ho-Chunk communities in May 2010. Beach said he looks forward to returning to the area to shoot the film. Begay said the producer has about 30 percent of the film’s budget. It’s uncertain when the production will begin, just as it’s uncertain if a new group of runners will run in 2012.
In closing, Begay informed the group know that he would not be returning to coach in the future. He said, “This will be my last year. Twelve years is good. I have a lot going on; (in terms of) family commitments.” During the graduation, Blackdeer said, “We don’t know what’s going to happen next year. We’ll have to get through this (year’s marathon trip), and take some time off. Then we’ll make a decision later on next year.”