Marathon Runners Take to the Windy City to Raise Awareness of Liver Disease
American Liver Foundation Team Runs the Bank of America Chicago Marathon on Sunday, October 9th
The American Liver Foundation (ALF) is proud to once again be a member of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon Official Charity Program for the 2022 race, which takes place on Sunday, October 9, 2022, in iconic Grant Park.
"We are so grateful for the support of the Bank of America Chicago Marathon," said Lorraine Stiehl, Chief Executive Officer, American Liver Foundation (ALF). "There are nearly 100 million people in the U.S. affected by liver disease, and most aren’t aware they even have it. That’s why we are so honored that these runners have chosen to join us to help raise awareness and funds to combat liver disease."
The American Liver Foundation’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon team has already met their fundraising goal and has since increased it. All funds raised will go towards ALF’s mission to support those affected by liver disease. The American Liver Foundation team is made up of runners with varying levels of experience from novice to advanced, most of whom have a connection to liver disease.
"I am honored to be running for those who have passed and those who are living with liver disease,” said Robin Turner, ALF’s Bank of America Chicago Marathon Challenge Chair. “Joining this 2022 ALF Chicago Marathon Liver Life Challenge Team also has significance to me. A few years ago, at the age of 40, I was diagnosed with Primary Biliary Cholangitis (PBC). Without the American Liver Foundation, I would be lost. I want to be able to help create a better future for individuals like us. Let’s continue to fight for the prevention, treatment, and cure of liver disease."
To support individual runners in the 2022 Chicago Marathon®, view the team list and donate at Our Team – Liver Life Challenge Chicago. Participants include:
- Cynthia Flores: Running in honor of her mother who died from fatty liver disease* in 2022. This will be her third full marathon.
- Nicholas DeMore: Running his third marathon and joining the ALF team for a second time, Nicholas runs in honor of his uncle, Andrew, who died of liver disease.
- Angela Mattingly: Running her second marathon with ALF, Angela runs to honor her father, who received a liver transplant in 2015.
Find a runner on the full American Liver Foundation (ALF) Bank of America Chicago Marathon team.
About Liver Disease
Your liver is essential to your life. It is the largest solid internal organ in the body. It is about the size of a football and weighs about 3 to 3.5 pounds (1.36–1.59kg). It is located on your right side, just under your rib cage. The liver performs many vital functions, including filtering toxins from your blood, managing blood clotting, making bile to digest fat, storing sugar for energy, turning extra glucose into glycogen, making protein for blood plasma, and helping with digestion.
There are many kinds of liver diseases and conditions, the most common are hepatitis viruses, nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), now called metabolic dysfunction-associated steatotic liver disease or MASLD, autoimmune diseases, genetic conditions, cancer, and others. More than 100 million people in the U.S. have some form of liver disease. Approximately 4.5 million U.S. adults (1.8%) have been diagnosed with liver disease. But it is estimated that 80-100 million adults in the U.S. have fatty liver disease, and many do not know they have it. Research estimates that fatty liver disease is present in up to 75% of overweight people and in more than 90% with severe obesity. Globally, it affects one billion people. In 2020, 51,642 adults in the U.S. died from liver disease (15.7 per 100,000 population). Find more information about Liver Disease.
About the American Liver Foundation
The American Liver Foundation is the nation’s largest non-profit organization focused solely on promoting liver health and disease prevention. The American Liver Foundation achieves its mission in the fight against liver disease by funding scientific research, education for medical professionals, advocacy, information and support programs for patients and their families as well as public awareness campaigns about liver wellness and disease prevention. The mission of the American Liver Foundation is to promote education, advocacy, support services and research for the prevention, treatment and cure of liver disease. For more information visit www.liverfoundation.org or call:1 800 GO LIVER (800-465-4837).
*Fatty liver disease has been newly renamed to steatotic liver disease.
Last updated on January 18th, 2024 at 09:02 am