150 Run in Iraq for the Fallen and Raise Funds to Help TAPS Support the Families Left Behind

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE October 21, 2008

WASHINGTON – On the other side of the globe, the Marine Corps Marathon will get an early start on October 26th as “Marine Corps Marathon Forward” kicks off the well-known “People’s Marathon” in Al Asad, Iraq.

“Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, TAPS, we can’t thank you enough for the continued support you have given us on this event held in Iraq,” said Crystal Nadeau, site supervisor with KBR and coordinator of this year’s Marine Corps Marathon Forward in Iraq.

TAPS will provide t-shirts for the 150 runners participating in Al Asad in the marathon. The runners are also raising funds to memorialize all of the fallen in Iraq and Afghanistan through the TAPS website at www.taps.org.

“It’s especially poignant and fitting that the first steps of the Marine Corps Marathon this year will be run in Iraq in memory of our fallen heroes,” said Bonnie Carroll, founder and chairman of TAPS.

Funds raised by the runners in Iraq will support TAPS programs to help families losing loved ones who serve in the military, providing much needed support for Good Grief Camps for children, case management support services for grieving families and the quarterly magazine TAPS produces for surviving families.

TAPS has seen demand for its services increase in recent years, with more than 48,000 people in the United States significantly impacted by US military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. TAPS estimates that for every military loss, there are 10 significant family members affected.

Several families who benefit from services provided by TAPS will be among the 30,000 runners participating in the Marine Corps Marathon in Arlington, Va. They’ll run the marathon, the MCM10K and even the one-mile Healthy Kids Fun Run. They’ll wear t-shirts emblazoned with photos, dog tags that clink with each step, and spur each other toward the finish line.

This is the third year the “Marine Corps Marathon Forward” has been held. The marathon participants in Iraq are running to honor all of the service members who’ve made the ultimate sacrifice on behalf of our nation in Iraq. They are unofficially dedicating this year’s run to US Marine Corps Major Megan M. McClung. McClung promoted the Marine Corps Marathon Forward in 2006, and was killed in December 2006.

Running in memory of McClung is very important to the runners, say organizers. “Thanks to her witty and charming personality and dedication to mission and commitment to fitness challenges, we are able to continue this annual event here in Iraq in support of the service members who wish to challenge themselves and dedicate this race to our fallen heroes,” said Nadeau. “I know she will be smiling at all the runners and volunteers as they take part in the event in Al Asad on October 26, 2008 to coincide with the stateside race.”

More information about donating to support a runner participating in the Marine Corps Marathon Forward in Iraq is available on the TAPS website at www.taps.org.

Voted “Best Marathon for Families”, the Marine Corps Marathon continues a combined tradition of dedication, sportsmanship and patriotism. Runners from all walks of life have participated in the world’s largest marathon to not offer prize money, deservingly earning the nickname “The People’s Marathon.” The 33rd Marine Corps Marathon will be held on October 26, 2008 in Arlington, Virginia. For more information about the Marine Corps Marathon, go to www.marinemarathon.com.

TAPS is the national organization providing compassionate care for the families of America’s fallen military heroes. TAPS provides peer-based emotional support, grief and trauma resources, seminars, case work assistance, and 24/7 crisis intervention care for all who have been affected by a death in the Armed Forces. Services are provided free of charge. Since its founding by surviving military families in 1994, TAPS has helped more than 25,000 family members who’ve lost loved ones serving in the military. For more information go to www.taps.org or call the toll-free crisis line at 800.959.TAPS.

Media Contact: Ami Neiberger-Miller, Public Affairs Officer, TAPS, phone 202.588.8277, cellular 703.887.4877, ami@taps.org

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