Half-Marathon To Raise Money For Oklahomans Battling Substance Abuse

A local non-profit is celebrating 40 years of helping Oklahomans who struggle with alcohol and drug abuse by hosting a half marathon fundraiser for its operations.

The Strides of March Half Marathon will be Sunday, March 17 at 8 a.m. at Lake Stanley Draper in Oklahoma City.

Money raised at the run will benefit OKC Metro Alliance and the programs used to help others.

The OKC Metro Alliance, a non-profit corporation, was founded in 1973 to administer the Public Inebriate Alternative (PIA) near downtown.

PIA is an Oklahoma City Police Department program that provides an alternative to the jail and court system for adults who have been detained for public intoxication but who are not committing any other crime.

The Firstep Recovery Residential Programs for Men (founded in 1987) and Women (founded in 1989) provide an opportunity for those with alcohol and chemical dependencies to become clean and sober and thus reclaim the productive lives they once had. Firstep is a long-term, residential, work-recovery program. The program is unique in that the organization does not charge clients; rather, the clients work in job training sites procured for them, and the income generated by that work sustains the program.

Organizers say the timing of this run is an excellent opportunity to prepare for the Memorial Marathon which is held in April in downtown Oklahoma City.

For more information on the event and how to register, visit the OKC Metro Alliance's Strides Of March website.