Run4Elise Enables Community Support For The Swim4Elise Foundation
On April 4, 2020, close to 1,000 runners and walkers of all ages will gather at Gateway Church for the fourth annual Run4Elise. This community favorite event, provides avid runners with a USATF-certified course along with chip timing and age group awards. For those who prefer a slower pace or shorter route, the event also includes a family-friendly 1-mile Fun Run/Walk.
Run4Elise supports the efforts of the Swim4Elise Foundation, a nonprofit organization founded to honor the life of Elise Cerami. Elise was a 13-year-old competitive swimmer who fatally drowned just eight feet from an empty lifeguard chair during her club swim practice in 2016. Since that time, the foundation has worked to educate families, swim clubs, daycares and other organizations on water safety, with particular focus on young children and competitive swimmers in North Texas.
The year that Elise drowned, over 100 children of varying ages fatally drowned in Texas.
“What compounds these tragic losses,” says Elise’s mother Lori Cerami, “is that they didn’t have to happen. Drowning is entirely preventable. And that’s what drove me to start the Swim4Elise Foundation. We want to educate people, so they never have to experience what our family, and so many other families, have been through.”
Most people know that drowning prevention begins with basic water safety, including always having an adult watching a young child in the pool.
“But once a child learns to swim,” says Lori, “people tend to back off. They start to think a child who can swim is somehow drown-proof. And that’s not the case. Elise was a healthy, proficient and competitive swimmer. It’s hard to imagine, but it can happen to anyone. We teach people the importance of always having someone watching swimmers, regardless of their swim level.”
The Swim4Elise Foundation also works to make sure people who spend significant time in and around the water can recognize and respond to a drowning crisis quickly.
“Again, it seems unimaginable that knowledgeable swimmers wouldn’t be able to identify drowning — yet in the lane next to Elise, a teammate continued her laps even after noticing Elise at the bottom of the pool. She simply didn’t know what was going on.”
Ultimately, it took six minutes for teammates to pull Elise to the surface, but she had been without oxygen for too long.
“When a person is identified early in the drowning process,” Lori stresses, “the odds of being resuscitated are significantly better. Early recognition and recovery are critical to saving lives.”
In addition to its daycare and classroom instruction, Swim4Elise provides camp, college and lifeguard scholarships to swimmers.
“We want to honor the commitment and passion of these dedicated athletes, in Elise’s name,” Lori explains, “while also helping increase the number of people who can provide potentially lifesaving measures in the water.”
Lifeguard scholarships pay for swimmers ages 15+ to receive a Red Cross lifeguard certification. Though the Run4Elise is the fundraiser for these efforts, it also acts as the scholarship award ceremony. Elise Cerami Memorial Scholarship recipients are recognized on stage during the opening presentation before the 1 Mile event. Since 2017, the foundation has provided over $60,000 in scholarships to North Texas swimmers. Scholarship applications are available online.
This year, the Southlake's Department of Public Safety will again be partnering with the Run4Elise, bringing both safety vehicles and personnel to the event. In addition, numerous sponsors and other safety advocates will be sharing their educational information with participants on race day. The popular silent auction will also return, featuring an assortment of incredible items up for bid — including autographed sports memorabilia, jewelry, gift cards and priceless experiences like riding to school in a fire truck! The auction will begin online on the Swim4Elise website in mid-March but will close live at the race on April 4.
Finally, in honor of Elise’s graduating class and the Posthumous Diploma Law recently signed by Governor Abbott, the Cerami family invites the community to celebrate the Class of 2020 at this year’s Run4Elise by getting decked out in graduation gear. “We want to see everyone out there in cap, gown and tassel,” says Lori. “And wear your ‘Dream Big’ event shirt, too!”
Registration for the 5K, available for $30, is open now. Event shirts are only guaranteed through March 15. The price will increase on race day and shirts will then be limited.
REGISTER TODAY: Run4Elise.com
Out of town or scheduling conflict on race-day? Sign up as a virtual participant.
Race Day Schedule:
6:00 AM – Same-day Registration and Packet Pick-up
7:00 AM – Auction Re-Opens
7:30 AM – Elise Cerami Memorial Scholarship Recognition
8:00 AM – Same-day Registration Closes
8:10 AM – Invocation and Anthem
8:20 AM – Camp Gladiator Warm-Up
8:30 AM – 1 Mile Fun Run
9:00 AM – 5K Run
10:00 AM – Auction Closes, Race Awards, Daycare Program Recognition
10:30 AM – Auction Winners Announced
The foundation is still seeking sponsorships and auction items. Please visit www.Swim4Elise.com to find out how you can help!
