David Samson Runs Over 50 Miles To Honor Stadium Construction Workers
POMPANO BEACH (CBSMiami) - Miami Marlins President David Samson is running over 50 miles Friday, and he's doing it all say thank you and raise money for charities.
The "Run to Honor the Workers" is Samson's way of honoring the construction workers who made the Marlins Park possible.
"Now that Marlins Park is open, many in our community have already seen the great work performed by the more than 5,000 workers who built it," Samson said in a statement.
The marathon began at around 7:00 a.m. in Pompano Beach.
Samson and 17 other runners are expected to arrive at the home plate of the Marlins Ballpark, just in time for the 7:10 p.m. Marlins v. Diamondbacks game.
The run will consist of nine five-mile intervals and one 7.4 interval, each dedicated to a specific charity of choice. A different runner will join Samson for each interval representing a specific charity.
The run has raised over $550,000 to date thanks to sponsors and individual donations.
One hundred percent of the proceeds will be donated to 10 charities including Stand Up To Cancer and The Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Upon arrival at the stadium, 500 workers will greet Samson and the other runners as they run through Center Field.
Later in the game, the Marlins will unveil a permanent plaque to be located on the Promenade Level with the name of every worker who helped build Marlins Park.
"The opportunity to raise more than $550,000 to be given by those workers to ten deserving charities is very personally rewarding," Samson said. "Running two marathons back to back is relatively easy compared to the hours and hours of hard and precise work done each day during construction by these workers."
