Our Mission

The mission of Marathons With A Mission is to challenge at-risk secondary students to experience the benefits of goal-setting, character development, adult mentoring and improved health by providing them with the life changing experience that happens with the training and the completion of a marathon.

To carry out its mission, MWAM has four key objectives:

• To provide mentors who assist students in their training and who reinforce the lessons of responsibility, discipline and goal-setting.
• To support students in tackling this extremely difficult goal, to break down their mental barriers to this goal, and to create “can do” attitudes.
• To create an opportunity for students of all ethnic groups, cultures, and socioeconomic backgrounds to meet one another and experience an important sense of belonging.
• To offer a program in which all students are welcome, all have the same chance to achieve the goal, and all become winners.

For many of the students, training for a marathon represents the first time that they have committed to a specific goal. By providing them an opportunity for incremental accomplishment and a supportive environment to help them on their way, MWAM gives the students the inspiration, excitement and encouragement to accomplish their goal.

Our History

In 2009, Curtis Workman finished the Go St. Louis Marathon and felt first hand this life changing experience.  Over the next year he continued to train and completed 6 additional marathons setting new goals each time. These goals although believed by some to be too lofty were only accomplished by what he learned during his first marathon. “You have two voices in your head. One that tells you to quit and the one that tells you that you can do it. You have to defeat that negative voice!” By silencing that negative voice he was able to go from a 4:55 marathon to qualifying for the Boston marathon 9 months later.

He ran the LA marathon in March 2010 and witnessed first hand the students from LA and Oakland (over 3,000 strong) begin and complete the marathon. Inspired by these two programs he returned to St Louis and established Marathons With A Mission.

Although our history here at Marathons With A Mission is short, the Students Run LA program has been around since 1989. In that time they have seen incredible results.

Since 1989, more than 39,000 students have been served by SRLA.  The growth of the program has only increased its success.  Each year:

• More than 95% of the students who start the marathon, finish the full 26.2 mile course
• More than 95% of the seniors who run the marathon graduate from high school
• More than 90% of SRLA graduating seniors have plans to attend college

In May 2009, there were 2988 SRLA runners at the Los Angeles Marathon and 99% of them finished.  In June 2009, 97% of the seniors who completed the Marathon with SRLA graduated from high school