PRESS RELEASE

For immediate release

For more information, contact:

Marilyn Eisenberg, MFA
Communications and Outreach Coordinator
Hope So Bright
(310) 374-2862
www.hopesobright.org

July 1, 2016
(Manhattan Beach, CA)

Linda Sanders, founder/CEO of Hope So Bright, a 501 (c) (3), public charity foundation is championing one of its many ambassadors, renowned athlete Mohamad Ahansal, to run in the STYR Labs Badwater ®135 race, July 18 – 20, in Death Valley, CA. This is one of the components of Hope So Bright’s 2016-17 Autism Awareness Campaign. Ahansal’s participation in this ultra marathon will raise worldwide recognition about the pandemic of Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Why endurance sports? Endurance sports (such as marathons, swimming, wrestling, weightlifting, cycling, cross-country skiing and race walking) are undertaken by individual athletes (not teams). During the sport activity key muscles are exercised at submaximal intensity for prolonged periods of time. An ultra marathon, also called ultra distance, is any footrace longer than the traditional marathon length of 42.195 kilometers or 26.219 miles. Ultra marathon running, in particular, beautifully represents that success is possible with dedication and perseverance.

Hope So Bright uses the analogy of a marathon runner’s experience to showcase the daily struggle of a learning impaired child. Bi-lingual, a world traveler, and an exemplary role model for her two children, Sanders has always enjoyed fitness and endurance sports, including marathon and ultra marathon running. She also has a family member who is autistic.

About Badwater®135
Covering 135 miles (217km) non-stop from Death Valley to Mt. Whitney, CA, the STYR Labs Badwater®135 is considered the most demanding and extreme one-stage running race offered anywhere on the planet. The start line is at Badwater, Death Valley, which marks the lowest elevation in North America at 280 feet (85m) below sea level. The location’s climate boasts some of the hottest temperatures in the world. The race finishes at Whitney Portal at 8,300 feet (2530m). The Badwater 135 course covers three mountain ranges with a total of 14,600 feet (4450m) of cumulative vertical ascent and 6,100 feet (1859m) of cumulative descent.

About Mohamad Ahansal
Mohamad Ahansal is a Moroccan Berber from the town of Zagora in the Sahara in the south of Morocco. He started running competitively in his teens but as a young boy he ran to and from school every day (7K each way) so, his conditioning started early. He and his elder brother Lahcen have won the Marathon des Sables 15 times between them. Ahansal recently won first place at the Iranian Silk Road Ultramarathon.

About Autism Spectrum Disorder
The Mayo Clinic defines autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as a serious neurodevelopment disorder that impairs a child’s ability to communicate and interact with others including restrictive repetitive behaviors, interests and activities. Some children show signs of ASD in early infancy while others develop normally for the first few months of life, but then suddenly become withdrawn, aggressive or lose language skills they’ve already acquired.

About Hope So Bright
Linda Sanders founded Hope So Bright, a private 501(c)(3) nonprofit public charity foundation in 2012, to provide financial support to other community nonprofits who offer programs and services to disadvantaged, underserved and at-risk youth. The current goal of Hope So Bright, for the next several years, is to promote awareness, collaboration, education, resources and advocacy for neurodiverse children with autism and ADHD.

Hope So Bright’s 2016-17 Autism Awareness Campaign includes Sanders’ second documentary film, which will focus on the autism pandemic and includes footage of Ahansal from this year’s Badwater®135 race. The film will spotlight interviews with Sanders, educational and healthcare professionals as well as proponents of Applied Behavioral Analysis (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy) in order to shed light on neurodiversity and the need for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy training for parents, caregivers, teachers, and others who live and work with autistic individuals.

In the USA, one in ten children are diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Hope So Bright, through its elite running team called “Irun4Ultra” and its 2016-17 Awareness Campaign, is publicizing the issue and promoting alternative ways to treat the symptoms of those diagnosed with autism, including Applied Behavioral Analysis (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), an effective non-pharmaceutical approach.

For more information: hopesobright.org and youtube.com/watch?v=ttzonazqnRU

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Morocco world news

By Tatiana Flowers

Rabat – Mohamad Ahansal from JbelBani, Morocco, has been invited by the United States to run “Badwater,” one of the world’s toughest foot races in America.  

The nonstop race comprises 135 miles (217k) of mountainous terrain and it starts in one of the hottest climates in the world, in Badwater, Death Valley, California. The starting point is at 280 feet (85m) below sea level and finishes in Mount Whitney at 8,300 feet (2,530m).

Ahansal will run a total of three mountain ranges, spanning 14,600 feet (4,450m) vertically, and 6,100 feet (1,859m) in ascension. On July 18, 2016, he will compete against some of the strongest male and female marathoners in the world, running for an organization called “Hope So Bright,” which raises awareness of autism, affecting one in 10 American children.

“I will be doing my very last bit of  training for Badwater here in Morocco with a fast run up our highest mountain. It will be a special run from Marrakech to Toubkal summit 4167m; 78 km with 4000 m+ climbing … We will be leaving on 9 July at 00:00 from Bab Rob in Marrakech if anyone would like to join,” Ahansal told Morocco World News.

Ahansal is a five-time champion of Marathon Des Sables, one of the hardest races on Earth and equivalent to six full marathons.

He and his brother, Lahcen, who is also an award-winning runner, had not started training until their late teens, but they would unknowingly become conditioned early, growing up in a high altitude with scorching temperatures, and mountainous terrain.  Each day, they ran 7 kilometers to and from school, or 4.3 miles in distance.

When Mohamad Ahansal was 17, he ran his first competition against other young men at the Eid Al-Ashor festival. He did not have running shoes, so he wore heavy football sneakers with improper soles. At the starting line, he realized his friends and competitors had proper running sneakers, so he decided to discard his own and run the race barefoot. He finished the race in second place, realizing for the first time, he had a tremendous ability.

Although Ahansal is well known for his capability of handling such tough foot races, he acknowledges the difficulty of Badwater.

“In a way, it was a crazy decision to sign up. It is almost the same distance, [as Marathon Des Sables] but Marathon Des Sables takes six days and Badwater is non-stop. I have never run this far in one go. Yes, the temperature will be the same, but the quality of the sun will be different. The altitude, the humidity, and the difference between the desert plain and the mountains are all factors. At the start, it is going to be very dry with lots of heat coming up from the ground, and then by the end, you are at high altitude. This is the difficulty,” he said.

Ahansal is internationally known for winning noteworthy, difficult races, including Marathon Des Sables, Fire and Ice, and The Iranian Silk Road. He has also created his own multi-stage race, called the Trans Atlas Marathon.

Last year, an American, Pete Kolstenick, won Badwater.  This year, Ahansal has a chance at bringing the victory home to Africa.