As many of you know, I completed my first marathon last year and it was truly a transformational experience and one that will never ever be replicated. I’ve actually looked into it and it turns out you can’t ever run your first marathon again.

So when I decided I was going to run the Los Angeles Marathon again this year, I wanted and needed it to be about something other than myself. Fortunately, the LA Marathon makes it very easy to run for something by offering a wide array of charities looking for runners to raise money and awareness.

After a lot of consideration, I have found a cause that is very close to my heart and it’s called The Fulfillment Fund.

As many of you may NOT know, I’m a first generation college student and I don’t know where I’d be today if I didn’t have the support system and blessings I had growing up to make earning a degree possible. College literally made me the person I am today and I can’t imagine my life without it or the experiences and people that came along with it. Unfortunately, many do have to imagine such a life.

That’s where The Fulfillment Fund comes in.

For more than 34 years, this wonderful organization has been dedicated to providing first-generation, low-income students with the support necessary to graduate from high school and earn a college degree. The group provides classroom instruction, college counseling, mentoring and scholarships and the results have been staggering. Whereas the overall high school graduation rate among LAUSD students is only 52 percent, Fulfillment Fund students graduate high school at a rate of more than 85 percent and, of those who graduate, 91 percent go on to college.

I am happy and proud to announce today that I am running the 2012 Los Angeles Marathon for The Fulfillment Fund.

I’ve already put my money where my mouth (and feet) are by making a donation and it is my sincere hope that my friends, family and people I barely know on facebook will consider doing the same.

I know times are tough for everybody, but even a small donation would mean a ton to me personally and the organization.

Your friend and soon-to-be-two-time marathon runner,

Greg  Feltes