A group of Marines from Always Brothers plus friends and supporters passed through West Seattle on Sunday Aug. 11 on their two day, 100 mile run from Seattle to Orting and back to honor military heroes from Washington State and to raise money for research of brain diseases and injuries experienced by veterans.

The Marines and civilians, some local and some from other parts of the U.S., left Leschi at 6 a.m., Aug. 10, and ran through Mercer Island, Renton, Maple Valley, and Enumclaw before stopping at the Washington State Department of Veterans Affairs Soldiers Home in Orting. After a short break there they continued along the outskirts of Puyallup and on through Sumner, Auburn, Kent, Tukwila, South Park and West Seattle, where they were joined by a police escort as they crossed the lower level West Seattle bridge and finished, as a group, at CenturyLink Field on Sunday.

This is the third year Always Brothers, a non-profit fraternal organization made up of Marines, other veterans, and their supporters, has hosted a 100-mile, 24-hour ultramarathon to benefit Marines and their families. This ultramarathon, unique in that it is not a race, will raise money for One Mind for Research™, a Seattle nonprofit dedicated to curing brain diseases, including traumatic brain injury (TBI) and post-traumatic stress (PTS).

“My original inspiration for working to improve diagnostics and treatments for brain injuries was the incredible number of soldiers returning from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with TBI and PTS,” says ONE MIND’s CEO Gen. Pete Chiarelli (Ret.), Seattle native and former Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. “We are proud to be supported by veterans’ organizations like Always Brothers to aid our mission of dealing with these ‘invisible wounds’ in both the military and civilian populations.”

Some runners will run the entire 100 miles while others will run as part of a team, with each team member running 5 to 25-mile legs. No matter the distance each participant runs, the ultramarathon is not a race. Participants will stick together the entire way, raising awareness of brain diseases and the stigma associated with them.

“Running 100 miles in 24 hours won’t be easy, but it’s nothing compared to what soldiers with PTS and TBI face,” said Marine Dan Neilsen, Maple Valley resident and vice president of Always Brothers. Neilsen was taped up for the run with signatures of support on his bandaged legs.

Great Clips, the world’s largest salon brand, is the 5-Star Sponsor of this event. Great Clips’ Seattle area franchisees are joining with sponsors like Thrive Community Fitness, Ulmer’s Auto Care, Arctic Ease, Precor, Europa Sports, SPRI, CamelBak, Saucony, Green & Sons and the St. Louis (Missouri) SWAT in support of this event. The Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC are also lending their support.

About Always Brothers
Always Brothers started as a fraternal organization of Marines that served at Marine Barracks 8th & I, and the Marine Security Forces teams at Camp David, the White House and the White House Communications Agency. It has grown to encompass veterans, civilians, friends, and family members, all working to raise awareness and funds for families of fallen veterans or veterans that need assistance. Find out more at AlwaysBrothers.org.

About ONE MIND™
ONE MIND is an independent, non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to curing the diseases of the brain and eliminating the stigma and discrimination associated with mental illness and brain injuries. ONE MIND sponsors groundbreaking new research and creates portals to shared scientific data, leading to improved diagnostics, more effective treatment, and, ultimately, cures for all types of mental illness and brain injury. ONE MIND works to find real solutions to the epidemic of brain disease, and improve the lives of current and future generations. More information can be found at 1mind4research.org.