“My motto in high school was I run for no one,” Charlie Kimball says with a laugh.
His stance has softened in the intervening years, and on Dec. 5 the Verizon IndyCar Series driver will join thousands of runners in the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Half Marathon in Memphis. Though mountain biking and snowboarding are more in line with Kimball's leisure pursuits, he'll run with his wife in the event that benefits the groundbreaking pediatric hospital.
“We have a little longer offseason so I can do some other fitness stuff that’s maybe not racing-specific and do some things I normally don’t do,” Kimball said of training for the 13.1-mile run. “During the season I wouldn’t have time to go run, put the miles in and then run a half-marathon.”
The mission of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is to advance cures, and means of prevention, for pediatric catastrophic diseases through research and treatment. Treatments invented at St. Jude have helped push the overall childhood cancer survival rate from 20 percent to more than 80 percent since it opened more than 50 years ago.
“It is really special to support the great work they’ve done and it will be a lot of fun,” said Kimball, who plans to tour the facility and meet with patients.
Kimball, who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in 2007, has partnered with global diabetes care leader Novo Nordisk, whose products he uses, to raise awareness of the importance of properly managing blood glucose levels and to demonstrate that diabetes can be successfully integrated into your life and your ambitions.
His training for and running in the half-marathon follow that message, Kimball said.
Carpenter is co-chair of Firestone charity event
Verizon IndyCar Series team co-owner/driver Ed Carpenter is the co-chair of the third Firestone Evening of Giving Benefit Concert and Charity Auction presented by KECO Coatings on Dec. 3.
A live auction will feature motorsports experiences, including an opportunity to have “Dinner with Ed Carpenter,” participate as a “crew member for a day” with Schmidt Peterson Motorsports, and take an INDYCAR Experience two-seater ride around the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.
Proceeds from the event and auction will be directed to Indiana Children’s Wish Fund and to support the mission and activities of Racing for Corey. For information and tickets, visit eventbrite.com or call (317) 356-7279.
Star-studded lineup for Montoya karting event
Juan Pablo Montoya, the 2015 Indianapolis 500 winner and Verizon IndyCar Series championship runner-up, and his wife will again host a charity karting event Dec. 5 near Bogota, Colombia.
The Carrera de Estrellas (Race of the Stars) is properly named.
Verizon IndyCar Series drivers scheduled to compete include Montoya, a four-time Colombian national karting champion in the 1980s, three-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, 2015 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and 2014 Indy Lights Presented by Cooper Tires champion Gabby Chaves, 2013 Sunoco Rookie of the Year and 2015 race winner Carlos Munoz, and Sebastian Saavedra.
The Chevrolet Corvette Z06 that Montoya received for winning the Indy 500 will pace the field and be on display at the venue.
Proceeds from the event will be directed to the Montoyas’ Formula Smiles Foundation, which they started in 2003. It focuses on the education through sports for youngsters 6-17 living in vulnerable areas of Colombia as a comprehensive activity to reduce social and gender inequality.