BRENTWOOD, Tenn. (WTVF) — Two mid-state runners are preparing to travel to New York City to run the marathon to raise awareness and money for the Alzheimer's Association.
On Thursday afternoon Reed West and Max Baker completed one of their last training runs before the marathon.
"Man, I actually feel really good right now," West said in between breaths during the run. The two will head to New York City on Saturday and the race starts Sunday morning. The New York City Marathon will be the fourth marathon they have run, but West said this one feels different.
"Yeah, I haven't been able to sleep very well this week," West said with a laugh. He and Baker are running the 26.2 mile race in honor of West's dad, Charlie West, who died of Alzheimers Disease last year.
"He was diagnosed in probably, 2014 or '15, and then succumbed to the effects of the disease in June of '18," West explained. After his death, the pair found out that Charlie West had run the same race, the New York City Marathon, 40 years ago.
"When we saw that he had run in 1979...it was pretty special," West said. "I called Max and said, 'hey man, we have to do marathon number four.'"
West said his father has been a constant presence throughout his training for the race.
"You get to these days where you don't want to get up and you don't want to go run," he said. "He would have some choice word for me if I quit early, so you hear the voice in your head telling you to keep going."
But West said race is more than following in his fathers footsteps. It's also to raise money to help families going through similar hardships.
"I think I've raised about $4,000 and Max is at $3,000 and counting," West said.
The thousands of dollars will go to the Alzheimer's Association. If you would like to donate, you can do so at the runners' fundraising page.
