Onward Shay Boise Marathon

Onward Shay! Boise Marathon
In the Fall of 2016 Boise will feature a world-class marathon/half marathon event for 5,000 runners. We will have a family fitness festival, as well as a kid’s race and fun events for kids of all ages. Unlike other marathons, it will start in the afternoon, to allow the whole family to enjoy the finish. It will be a fast, beautiful course showcasing the City of Boise and highlighting Boise’s diversity, talent and goodwill. It will be certified as a Boston qualifier. The timing, photography of finishers, and finish line will be sourced out to a national professional company, used to working for top quality U.S. races, such as the Boston Marathon.
The race will be held in honor of Shay Hirsch, wife of George Hirsch. George is the former publisher of “Runner’s World,” now Chairman of the Board of the New York City Road Runners. Shay was brought up in Boise, daughter of Pat and Morley Nelson, founder of Boise’s World Center for Birds of Prey. Shay ran marathons, and trained for many years with Boise friends, who knew and loved her. Shay lost her eleven year battle with Multiple Myeloma in February of 2014. Every uplifting email she wrote to friends following her progression ended with, “Onward, Shay.”
In memory of Shay this race will be inspirational, creative, and diverse. We will honor every racer by asking those who wish to write their own story of “ONWARD,” the story that each of us may all face at some time in our lives as we deal with events that bring us to our knees, yet we get up and face each day with grace, and dignity and an attitude of “Onward”.
Each year we will choose twenty-six inspiring stories, and honor one person of great courage at each mile marker. We will ask runners to share their own stories and will post these personal stories at our packet pickup, and online on the race website so that every runner in this race will feel connected to every person running beside him or her.
Every mile will feature all the talent and diversity and enthusiasm that this beautiful city of Boise has to offer. We are inviting bands, choirs, singers, quartets, ensembles, actors and dancers to perform all along the course. Every visitor attending this race will come away believing that Boise is the warmest, most enthusiastic, caring city they have ever been to.
We have the support of the New York City Road Runners, who put on the NYC Marathon, as well as more than fifty New York races a year. Mary Wittenberg, the former President of the NYRR (now President and Global CEO for Richard Branson’s new company, Virgin Sports) is on our advisory board, as well as George Hirsch. We have Dick Fosbury (the Olympian who perfected the “Fosbury Flop”), as well as Dick and Gabrielle Anderson (marathon Olympian), Bart Yasso, Bill Rogers (four Boston Marathon wins/ NYC Marathon wins) Amby Burfoot, of Runner’s World, David Willey, editor of Runner’s World, Joan Benoit Samuelson, Nick Symmonds, Frank Shorter, and Jeff Galloway on our Advisory Board.
These running legends, dear friends of Shay, expect not only to attend this great new marathon on Oct. 30, 2016 in Shay’s honor, but to anchor legs of relay teams, each raising money for a separate Boise charity. The Legends will also give a Legends Symposium, hosted by one of our sponsors, to speak to runners, and answer questions. This unique, incredible opportunity for runners, families, supporters, and the city of Boise, will allow OSBM to give a big boost to a number of Boise Charities, something Shay would have been very proud to be a part of.
A few of the charities Shay loved to support, and whom we will make race beneficiaries are:
WCA (Women & Children’s Alliance) for whom Shay was at one time the director
The local Girl Scouts (Shay was a Girl Scout and a Girl Scout Leader until the end of high school)
YMCA’s Make a Splash program & Jeff Mandel’s Gates of Hope, sending local refugee children to YMCA camp (Shay was a long time member and supporter of the YMCA)
The IRC (International Rescue Committee) benefiting the refugee families of Boise (Shay loved and supported diversity in our community)
The Friends of the Boise Public Library (Shay supported the library, believed in the power of books and was a constant reader throughout her life)
We will also choose a charity that supports local people who are fighting cancer in our own community (cancer took Shay’s life and she was grateful to so many who were with her throughout her illness)