Fladeboe EcoCentre & Honda Presents Orange County Annual Memorial Day Half Marathon Honoring United States Marine Corps Dark Horse Battalion
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LAGUNA HILLS, CA--May 20, 2013: The City of Laguna Hills will host the annual Memorial Day Half Marathon on Monday, May 27, 2013, honoring Marine Infantry 3/5 Battalion DARKHORSE with race proceeds and donations to 3/5 Battalions Marines/Sailors and their families. The Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon will hold four races, with a community expo, including food vendors, beer garden, entertainment, and aid stations.
The Laguna Hills Half Marathon will include a Half Marathon, 5K, and 10K that will begin at 7 a.m. at the Laguna Hills Mall. There will also be a kids half mile and a Diaper Dash for children 3 years old and under that will begin at 9:30 a.m. Registration for the youth races will open at 8:30 a.m. The event is presented by Fladeboe Automotive (EcoCentre & Honda)
The Memorial Day half Marathon is the 15th year of the event and 2013 race will benefit the United States Marine Corps 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment. The 3/5 Dark Horse battalion returns from deployment only days before the event and will have representation of many Dark Horse Marines and Naval Corpsmen and women, as well as their families.
The registration and packet pickup will be on Saturday, May 25 and Sunday, May 26 between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. at Road Runner Sports in the Oakbrook Village Center at 24291 Avenida De La Carlota, Laguna Hills CA 92653. The 3rd Battalion 5th Marines conducted operations in Sangin District of Afghanistan in 2010-2011, during this time 25 of the battalions marines were killed in combat and 200 were wounded.
The city of Laguna Hills is donating 3 dollars per runner to the 3/5 Marine Foundation called the Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse. Race Proceeds and donations will be awarded to Laguna Hills Team Dark Horse non-profit organization that distributes the money to the 3/5 Marines-Sailors and their families.
Mayor Melody Carruth, Laguna Hills Mayor, states, "On this day, we remember the 1,200,000 Americans who wore this country's uniforms and gave the ultimate sacrifice and paid with their very lives to provide and maintain the freedoms we have today. This is no ordinary half marathon. As you return home to your loved ones and friends, and enjoy a barbeque and relax on Memorial Day, you'll be able to tell them, proudly, that you ran a race with heroes."
One of the Marines, Lance Corporal Travis Haggerty, deployed with the 3/5 Marines in Sangin when the battalion suffered serve loses with 25 dead and 200 wounded ran the half marathon in 2012. He ran the Fladeboe Memorial Half Marathon in 2012 carrying a United States flag with the names of his companies 25 desist, he said, "Just because they are in Heaven, they don't get out of running."
Lt. Col. Christeon Griffin, the 3/5 Battalion's Commanding Officer stated, "This is just one small sign of the many things that city is constantly doing for our battalion, and trust me, when the chips are down, it means a great deal to the Marines and sailors to know that we have the support of the community."
The 2013 Laguna Hills Memorial Day Half Marathon presented by Fladeboe Honda & EcoCentre will have Corporal Josue Barron as the event's Grand Marshal. Cpl. Barron was wounded in 2010 from an IED and consequently lost his leg above the knee and his left eye.
For more information about the lead sponsor Fladeboe Honda and EcoCentre or more information about the 2013 Memorial Day Half Marathon please visit Laguna Hill Half Marathon , the event's dedicated website. Volunteer information is available on the website as well or call (949) 975-8506.
For additional information or to make a donation to the 3/5 Marines Nonprofit organization visit Team Dark Horse's website, Team Dark Horse (INCORPORATED JANUARY 2011 WITH A 501 (C) (3) STATUS -- ID # 27-4526336).