Event Information
About March for Marrow (formerly Hope, Steps & A Cure Los Angeles)
March for Marrow events, which began as Hope, Steps & A Cure 5K Run and Patient & Family Walk in 2010, were organized by a group of patients and families in Los Angeles that are living with bone marrow failure diseases or who have lost a loved one to these rare diseases. Bone marrow failure diseases affect the production of healthy red and white blood cells and platelets:
• Red blood cells carry oxygen to tissues and organs
• White blood cells help fight disease and infections
• Platelets help blood clot to stop bleeding
If the bone marrow "factory" breaks down and fails to keep up with the body’s need for healthy blood cells, the result is called bone marrow failure. Aplastic anemia, myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) and paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria (PNH) are bone marrow failure diseases.
Today there are several treatments to prolong and improve the quality of life for patients. March for Marrow events seek to educate the public about the important work that the Aplastic Anemia MDS International Foundation (AAMDSIF) does to inform and educate patients, family members and medical professionals about these diseases, their symptoms and resources available to help them. Please visit www.AAMDS.org.
March for Marrow Walks, which take place every year in different communities across the country, are also fundraising and community building events where patients and their supporters come together to compete at raising as much money as they can for the patient and family services offered free-of-charge by the Foundation. We join together to celebrate and remember wins and losses and to run/walk for a CURE!
To date, we have raised over $600,000 for AAMDSIF in Los Angeles. In 2021 the Foundation provided service to 17,745 patients and families; webinars and online learning opportunities to 6,291 viewers; three VIRTUAL Patient & Family Conferences that attracted 1,737 attendees from the US and other countries; patient education materials that were downloaded by over 5,028 patients or family members; and managed 127 monthly support groups.
AAMDSIF continues to make a significant difference in the field of these rare bone marrow failure diseases, providing critical information to 1,200,000 people including doctors, nurses, and research fellows as well as patients, families and caregivers.
Thank you for your support!
IN-PERSON Start on April 30, 2022!
The 13th Annual March for Marrow is a hybrid – both IN-PERSON and VIRTUAL - on Saturday, April 30, 2022. Registration for our IN-PERSON 5K is either here or at 7:00 am and the Start is at 8:00 am, Shoreline Village, 429 Shoreline Village Drive, Long Beach, CA.
Those who choose to run VIRTUALLY can run any time on April 30, 2022, and post your best time on STRAVA or send it by email to march4marrowla@gmail.com.
Before and after your run post your selfie or video at #MarchforMarrowCA @AAMDSIF
What is the March for Marrow Registration process?
Register here and run any time after 9:00 am your time zone, April 30, 2022. As mentioned, timing will be on your STRAVA app. You will get updates about the event if we have your email address and cell phone.
Help us promote this virtual run or walk by posting a selfie about registering at #MarchforMarrowCA @AAMDSIF
STRAVA Timing or Email for Virtual Runners
Recording and submitting your 5K time:
Be sure to use Strava to log and record your time. To do so, just log into the
Strava app on your phone or online and find the “March for Marrow” Club. You
can find this on your browser here: https://www.strava.com/clubs/1021597
Once you have the Strava app downloaded, or you’ve gone to the event
online:
1. We ask that you create a Strava profile
2. Then join the event labeled “Event Title”.
3. When you run on or before April 30, 2022, be sure to have your phone
with you and record your run using their record feature. You’ll be able
to then upload your time to the event!
If you do not use STRAVA email your times, START and FINISH, to march4marrowla@gmail.com.
Please keep in mind that all race time submissions should be done on good
faith. Some people’s routes will be flatter and have less hills, and some
participants may be running on sidewalks and waiting for traffic lights
while others are in a park. In the spirit of the AAMDS community, please be
honest about your time when submitting your results
Awards – T-Shirts
This year we are keeping it simple. We have as many as 100 t-shirts for the first overall registrants to run, walk or fundraise, plus a Welcome Packet and Place Medals for First, Second and Third Place in age groups of 5-years. Be sure that we have your mailing address.
Additional Activities - Silent Auction for those In-Person!
For those of you IN-PERSON we are recruiting items for our Silent Auction.
To date: Laurel Burch Gift Certificate, Super Surprise from Candy Stoutenborough, Mia Hamm Signed Ball w/ Nike Bag, $100 Macy’s Gift Card, …more to come!
Why Virtual and Statewide?
The 2022 March for Marrow California will celebrate 13 years of advocacy this year by staging its first IN-PERSON March for Marrow LA since 2019.
March for Marrow California persevered through COVID-19 with VIRTUAL events. Last year we even went STATEWIDE, running and walking from southern to northern California. We are going to continue that option, because California is a huge state, with many rural areas where doctors have never seen a bone marrow failure patient – and we need to educate them for that first case.
Shortly after we went virtual, the Aplastic Anemia & MDS International Foundation decided to put on its three-day, 7th International Scientific Symposium on July 15-17, 2020, TOTALLY VIRTUALLY. In the end the Symposium attracted 697 research and medical professionals from 32 different countries. The top five countries attending were the US, Brazil, United Kingdom, India, and Burma.
That success gave March for Marrow Committees across the country the confidence to take advantage of virtual technology and to open 2021 with a Global Kick-Off for March for Marrow during the week dedicated to bone marrow failure disease, March 1-7, 2021. Following that we scheduled our California TOTALLY VIRTUAL event for April 24 to May 1, 2021, which we are taking statewide.
Cancellation of 5K or 1-Mile or 2-Mile Walk
There are two things that could cancel this event in 2022: Lightening and a dangerous uptick in COVID. Watch for notices at www.marchformarrow.org!
