Event Only One of Several Tributes to Griffith Joyner

Somehow, Al Joyner knows his wife would have approved.

When the Saddleback Memorial Foundation contacted Joyner this year to inform him its members were interested in naming its half-marathon and 5K after his late wife, Florence Griffith Joyner, it seemed appropriate.

“Most people don’t realize that Flo-Jo became famous as a sprinter, but she genuinely loved distance running and wanted to share that love with others,” Joyner said. “When she passed away, she had been training for a marathon.”

Griffith, who won three gold medals in the 1988 Olympics, died Sept. 21, 1998, in her sleep after suffering an epileptic seizure at the age of 38. She is survived by Al and their daughter, Mary, now 8.

“After she died, I got 15,000 letters from people she never met saying your wife had a way of changing my life,” Joyner said last week. “People would stop her in public and she always took time to talk to them. That was her way of saying thank you.”

The inaugural Flo-Jo Memorial Half Marathon and 5K, originally named the Aliso Creek Half Marathon and 5K, is 7:30 a.m. Monday, starting near Saddleback Memorial Medical Center.

The event was conceived about a year ago--when it was named after the trail--to give runners enough time to train for the races, said Jennifer Lefebvre, spokeswoman for the foundation. Johnny Vance, chairman of Memorial Health Services, “suggested we consider renaming the event in her memory so community members could participate in her memory. Then the [volunteer] committee voted and approved,” she said.

At the time of her death, Griffith Joyner had completed her book, “Running for Dummies,” co-written with Newsday running writer John Hanc, and was in the process of proofreading it.

Joyner has taken on the responsibility of touring the United States and Canada, promoting and signing the book. For each book sold, $1 is donated to the Flo-Jo Memorial Community Empowerment Foundation, which was founded by Joyner.

“It’s been great,” Joyner said of the tour. “People have told me the book is easy to read and informative. They say they wish they’d had it before they started to run. Florence would have loved that.”

The half marathon course runs along streets in Laguna Hills and along the paved Aliso Creek Trail, so there are rolling hills. Joyner, who won an Olympic gold medal in the triple jump, is expected to run the 5K, and Mary will run in the 1K children’s race, which is named after her.

Registration fee for the half marathon is $32; 5K is $23; senior’s (55 and older) and children’s race is $17. There will be a registration drive Saturday at the Laguna Hills Mall. Runners can also register through Friday at Sports Chalet stores in Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Irvine, Huntington Beach and Brea, or call (949) 452-3466. About 5,000 are expected to run, Lefebvre said.

Proceeds from the races will benefit the Saddleback Memorial Foundation. This fall, groundbreaking is expected on the Meiklejohn Critical Care Pavilion, which will contain a new emergency room and intensive care unit.

The event is only one way the community has chosen to honor Griffith Joyner, a Mission Viejo resident at the time of her death. Last Friday, a bronze statue of Griffith Joyner was unveiled at Saddleback Memorial Medical Center. Also last week, the Mission Viejo city council voted unanimously to rename Olympiad Park after Griffith Joyner.

Again, Joyner says she would have approved.

“I was at the meeting,” Joyner said. “I think it’s great that my daughter can go by a park and say, “Hi, Mommy.’ ”

Joyner is hoping to one day open a Florence Griffith Joyner museum in Southern California, which would display her writing, art and clothing designs. He’s also working with an artist on a comic book that features his late wife as a super hero, which is scheduled to debut this summer. And he’s working on an autobiography about the two of them.

“Florence was really about giving to the community,” Joyner said, “and saving kids. Making the world a better place to live. She wanted to teach kids that if you’re able to like yourself, you’ll be able to love others.”

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The Run for Your Life 5K Run/Walk is Sunday at UC Irvine. The race takes place and benefits World No Tobacco Day, and is sponsored in part by the Orange County Tobacco Use Prevention Program.

Officials are expecting about 800 runners; last year’s inaugural race drew about 500, said Cindy Morris, spokeswoman for Orange County. There are also children’s races: 1 mile for kids 11-12 years old; 1/2-mile for kids 9-10 and 1/4-mile for kids 8 and younger.

Registration for the 5K is $20; for children’s races it’s $15. Runners can preregister at noon-6 p.m. Friday and Saturday at Chili’s restaurant, 3745 Alton Pkwy. in Irvine, or call the Orange County at (714) 541-1444. Race-day registration starts at 6:30 a.m. at the campus. Parking is $4.