Runner races to raise money

Chad Getchell hopes to collect $1,000 for Special Olympics during marathon

Chad Getchell knows what it's like to be told he can't do something.

A few years ago, he decided he wanted to get back into shape. Standing 6-foot-3 and weighing, at the time, around 280 pounds, he told his friends he planned to run a marathon.

Some of them laughed.

"They didn't think I could do it," Getchell said. "But when I do the (Las Vegas Marathon) in December, it will be my second full marathon, and I was doing half-marathons before that. But I got to thinking about that, how people can laugh when you say you want to do something or assume you can't do it, and so that's what motivated me to do what I'm doing now."

What Getchell is doing now is raising money, through his participation in December's marathon, for Special Olympics Nevada's Sponsor An Athlete program.

"I grew up in Vermont in a town that hosted the Winter Special Olympics events for a number of years and I got involved with it then," he said. "It's an organization that has meant a lot to me, and since I came out here, I wanted to do something to help out."

Getchell, a southwest Las Vegas resident, moved from Atlanta to Vegas to work for Bally Technologies. He ran a half-marathon last year at the annual Las Vegas Marathon, and he's ready for the real thing (26.2 miles) this December.

His fundraising goal for Sponsor An Athlete is $1,000, and he's already raised almost $800 through donations made in his name.

All eligible Special Olympics athletes participate for free, but on average, athletes compete in two sports per year at a cost of $250 per sport to the program. This amount covers coach recruitment and training, equipment, facilities, insurance, uniforms and travel. Since Special Olympics Nevada receives no federal or state funding, financial support comes from individuals, organizations, corporations and foundations.

"I just got in touch with them through the Web site and asked how I could go about raising some money, and luckily they had this program in place," Getchell said. "So I'm kind of having people sponsor me to run the marathon and in turn, it will sponsor other athletes."

Special Olympics Nevada is a year-round training and competition program for children and adults with developmental disabilities. Fourteen different sports are offered in this state, including skiing, swimming, basketball, bocce, bowling, floor hockey, golf, gymnastics, powerlifting, soccer and softball.

The organization holds fundraising events throughout the year to support its programming. To find out how to make a donation, visit www.sonv.org.

Getchell is not just excited about how he's serving the community. He's hoping to set a personal best time at the upcoming marathon.

"The first one I ran I weighed about 250. Then the next one I was around 235 or 240. Now I'm almost down to 220 pounds," he said. "I'm optimistic about breaking the four-hour mark this time, that's what I'm shooting for. But I'll happy with any personal best."