Climbing obstacles to reach more than the finish line

Remember walkathons, those not-so-fun fundraisers where you had to convince friends, family and neighbors to write you a check in exchange for walking a certain number of miles? Well, there’s a new spin on the walkathon that’s about a thousand times higher-intensity – not to mention a thousand times more fun.

And it’s for a really good cause.

It’s called Concrete Hero. It’s a five-mile competitive challenge on July 14 that takes participants on a wild, winding route beginning and ending at Los Angeles Historic State Park with a jaunt through the streets and alleys of downtown L.A. thrown in for good measure. So, suffice it to say participants don’t do much walking. Instead, they attempt obstacle course-style feats involving some of our best-known local landmarks.

Concrete Heroes scale a mockup of the Hollywood sign, crawl through an obstacle called “The Beach,” swing over a slick facsimile of the La Brea Tar Pit and foist themselves over real cars and buses in a challenge called “Carmageddon” that only an Angeleno could fully appreciate. As if that weren’t enough, the event’s organizers promise even more surprises thrown in along the way.

In the midst of all the excitement, you might forget that Concrete Hero is a very serious fundraiser for a very serious purpose: improving the lives of people living with HIV and AIDS in the L.A. area and reducing future infections through prevention programs.

Concrete Hero’s participants form teams and raise pre-event funds. That money goes directly to AIDS Project Los Angeles, which provides HIV education programs across L.A. County targeting those at greatest risk. APLA also uses Concrete Hero resources to support vital care programs that do a lot of good for people with HIV/AIDS; for instance, APLA affiliates distribute food to people facing hunger and provide essential dental procedures at low cost or no cost to those in need.

“Though many of those locally who live with HIV/AIDS have access to life-sustaining medical treatments, they simply cannot afford essentials like food, safe housing, dental care and much more,” said Craig E. Thompson, executive director at APLA. “With those basic needs unmet, too many struggle to manage the burdens of daily living, let alone the complications of managing a chronic and still-deadly disease like HIV.”

Participants in last year’s Concrete Hero competition — the very first — raised more than $400,000 for the cause.

To learn more and register, visit www.concretehero.org.

—Alex Weber, Brand Publishing Writer