20th Annual Pier to Pier Run

Ambassador for Mobility: Bob Longman

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Background: Bob first discovered Free Wheelchair Mission from a fellow bible study member (and now current FWM board member) Jim Franklin. Jim told Bob about the story behind the wheelchair, and the vision of Free Wheelchair Mission to provide 20 million wheelchairs to people around the world. Moved by the mission, Bob quickly got involved directly with FWM and going on a mission trip to Chile. He has since visited Tanzania and Peru, and has also returned to Chile for a second visit. He has shared his passion for the organization with his family by encouraging his children and grandchildren to get involved as well.

The Story: The 20^th Annual Pier to Pier run was held on October 8^th, 2011 in Newport Beach. This event was started years ago when Bob and his sons decided to run the 5 miles along the beach between the Huntington Beach Pier and the Newport Beach Pier. Since then, the run became an annual event for Bob and his family, with the number of participants growing annually. Now, the event includes a chartered bus to transport all the participants and their bikes from Bob’s home to the starting area (and then from the finish area back to Bob’s house), a catered post-run meal, and specially designed event t-shirts! The event logistic responsibilities are shared by the Longman clan, rotated between Bob’s children each year. The event had more than 50 people who ran, biked, jogged or walked the 5 miles before joining Bob back at his home for a post-race meal. To commemorate the 20^th Annual event, the family decided to make their miles matter by donating all proceeds to FWM!

Lives Transformed by Bob’s 20^th Annual Pier to Pier Event: 23