Running event to honor Native youths

By John Christian Hopkins
Diné Bureau

WINDOW ROCK — More than 100 Native American runners are expected to gather in the Valley of the Sun to participate in the P. F. Chang Marathon-and-a-half Marathon Sunday. Though some of the runners will stick to running just the half.

The fundraising event is organized by Native Youth Magazine, an online magazine that promotes the talents and lifestyles of Native American youth across the United States and Canada.

Among the athletes expected to run are former Miss Navajo Karletta Chief and her two sisters, and young Navajo cross country runner Josh Tso and his mother, Michelle.

Runners are expected from various tribes, including the Tohono O'odham Nation, Gila River Indian Community and the San Carlos Apache.

"We hear enough negative news about young people," said Native Youth Magazine founder Mary Kim Titla, of San Carlos. "We need a Web site to promote the good things that our Native youth are doing."

Titla, a former TV news reporter, is attempting her first half-marathon run. She is dedicating her run to Native youth, she said. She began her magazine which can be found at www.nativeyouthmagazine.com in 2005.

"By sharing their (Native youths) stories can encourage their peers to do great things," Titla said.

Also making her first try at the half-marathon is Marie Paul, an Aleut. She is running in memory of her son, Mateo Sandavol, who died nearly three years ago, and to raise money for an organization called Hope's Kids.

Once, running was a way of transportation and survival for American Indians; while today many do it to keep in shape.

Among the notable Native American runners are:

• Tom Longboat, an Onondaga, who set a new course record in winning the 1907 Boston Marathon.
  
  
• Billy Mills, who captured the 10,000 meters event at the 1964 Olympics.
  
  
• Jim Thorpe, who, in 1912, won both the decathlon and pentathlon in the Olympics.
  
  
• Tarzan Brown, the two-time Boston Marathon winner. Brown became the youngest winner in 1936 and broke the course record in 1939.

There has been a long association between Indians and running.

Legend has it that the Chemehuevi of California discovered a way to run so swiftly that their feet barely touched the ground. The legends gained new life in 1909 when three posses tracked Willie Boy, a Native accused of murder, across the desert.

John Christian Hopkins can be reached at hopkins1960@hotmail.com or by calling 505-371-5443.