Heroes Spotlight: Get to Know Your Teammates

When Scott Stombaugh ran the Race to Wrigley 5K with his five-year-old son in 2013, he couldn’t imagine that one day they would run the Chicago Marathon together. But the event that day combined two pastimes that would provide them with years of bonding opportunities—running and baseball.

As the runners entered the Friendly Confines through the left-field entrance, they saw the finish line in sight, straight down the third base line—home plate.

“I kept saying, ‘Good job buddy! Do you want to stop and walk, or do you want to keep running?’” Stombaugh remembered. “Wesley said, ‘Keep running.’ I could not believe he ran the whole way.”

It was a magical moment for father and son. Stombaugh has shared his love of baseball with his son since he was a toddler. Throughout his own childhood, Stombaugh dreamed of playing first base for his beloved Chicago Cubs.

It was supposed to be a beautiful family vacation in Lake Tahoe for the Loch family. Instead, it turned into a nightmare.

Adam Loch grew up in Cary, Ill., and loved playing outdoor sports. In January 2022, his family decided to go on an unforgettable trip to ski and snowboard, not knowing what the trip would hold. 

It was a warm winter day on the ski slopes of Lake Tahoe. Loch and his family were having a blast skiing and snowboarding. The sun was bright, and the snow was fluffy—perfect elements for some downhill excitement.

As he sliced a path through the snow, Loch began to pick up speed. He tried to maneuver around a group of kids taking ski lessons and an injured man being helped by the ski patrol.

Keeping his eyes peeled for danger, the slope split into two directions. He had to make a split-second decision. Which way to turn.

Then he blacked out.

For two weeks, Loch was unconscious and could not remember anything leading up to the accident. When he woke up, his family filled in the details.

As a child, Diganta Kalita knew familial love and household scarcity in equal measure. He grew up in a small town in Bamundi near Guwahati, the main city of northeast India. His parents worked hard to provide for their kids, but some days they didn’t have enough money to buy groceries. When supplies were scarce, his mother rationed their meals and found opportunities to work. They had to live in a house built from bamboo, thatching, and soil—just enough for the family to sleep in and stay warm.

“I never complained. My mother did not know how to count the numbers after twenty,” Kalita said. “She was completely illiterate but provided me and all my siblings motherly love and protection to survive throughout my childhood.” 

Odion Ailemen lived amidst the constant threat of gang violence in the ancient city of Benin in Edo State, Nigeria. Intense violence, robbery, and murder were commonplace and young men in the city faced limited choices–all of them grim. You could join a gang and survive. Or you could risk being a victim, even losing your own life.

“Everybody I knew was in a gang… I never was in the gang. [It] was not easy to be a part of that environment. It was really rough,” Ailemen said. 

Yet despite his own difficult choice, he remained one of the lucky few. “I survived it without being in one of those gangs. Lots of people got killed and injured.”

Ailemen lived in a struggling single-parent household. His mother worked tirelessly to provide for her family. She was a chief librarian, in control of five different libraries, while pursuing her master’s and doctorate degrees, and running a small corner store business on the side.

Ailemen’s grandmother moved in with the family to help raise him and his brothers. The young man developed a special bond with his grandmother, who taught him how to take care of himself and be responsible.

There was one thought that echoed in Cecelia Martinez’s mind early on during the 2019 Bank of America Chicago Marathon: “I don’t think I’m going to make it.” 

“Possibly a mile in or so, I was like what did I get myself into? No way am I going to be able to do this.” 

There comes a time in the marathon when runners doubt their ability to finish. But despite her desire to quit, Cecelia drew strength from her family’s support, from her intention to run for Mercy Home, and from her promise to honor her deceased son, who was a resident at the Home ten years earlier. But it was after seeing her daughter cheering her on from the crowd that Cecilia knew she had to push forward. The continued support she received from so many others along the way motivated her to keep going to the end. 

“I was seeing people with Mexico flags, Mexico signs, and I would shout out ‘Guadalajara!’ because that’s where my family is from … And people would get so excited,” she said.