500
+ Marathon Man’s Quest
Overcoming
Challenges, Life-Saver, Unstoppable
As a father, mega-marathoner, and
life-saver, 63 – year- old Raul Santana is both an avid runner and an
unassuming hero. Eight years ago, Raul
saved his friend’s twelve-year-old son (who was dying of leukemia) by donating
his bone marrow. After donating, he
dedicated his following marathon (Long Beach Marathon) to this recipient and
gave both his marathon t-shirt and finishing medal. Now as an adult, his recipient still wears
the medal. He never takes it off and
whenever anyone asks about it he always tells the story of how Raul saved his
life. Every year 6,000 people are
diagnosed with leukemia and need a bone marrow transplant. 75% of these people do not have a compatible donor
in their family. Raul is one of eleven
million donors who made a difference and saved a life. We salute you, Raul.
Raul started his running journey in
1976 when he ran his first marathon in Mexico with an impressive time of
2:42:00. Since then, Raul has run over
five hundred marathons, an extraordinary feat. His remarkable 500 was Revel
Canyon Marathon November 18, 2016. But
like any journey, there are always challenges along the way. Raul’s spirit and love for running was put to
the test when he was diagnosed with a tumor in his right knee that was so
severe, the doctor believed that Raul’s whole leg needed to be amputated. Fortunately, this wasn’t the case. Instead, he underwent surgery and the tumor
was successfully removed, but Raul was told that his running days were over. It
was very hard to absorb the news, but modern medicine could not supersede his
will and running spirit. As a runner you
fight through and never quit, and when the doctor ordered him not to walk more
than one mile, the runner in Raul secretly ran fifteen miles.
Now, Raul is completely cured and recovered and not only runs marathons,
but ultra-marathons (100 Miles) as well.
This man is unstoppable.
By Katherine Truong & Elva Gomez
Conozco a Raul Santana por nuestro amigo en comun,tambien marathonista, Alberto Perusset, ambos extraordinarios. La extrema sensibilidad y su contagiosa vitalidad son en Raul parte de su vida cotidiana. Felicitaciones y continua siempre adelante remontando el faro de la inspiracion. Abrazo, Cecilia
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