A longtime Houston marathon runner, the local charity she supports draw inspiration from each other.

LaToya Adams

LaToya Adams is a bodybuilder and fitness guru who has been running long distances for about half of her life. Since 2015, she has run all 26 miles of the Chevron Houston Marathon every year.

But that’s usually a problem for Adams, a 38-year-old Houston resident who works as a corporate healthcare lawyer and also runs online fitness classes. Her body tends to crash into the figurative wall at the 18 mile mark, she says, which leaves her wondering if she can make it to the finish line.

Adams is still plodding along as her thoughts of doubt are quickly replaced by a sense of inspiration. Last year, for example, she thought of 8-year-old John Bryan, who was born three months premature along with twin brother Austin, who did not survive. According to his mother, Morgan Bryan, Jonah is still coping with numerous illnesses, including cerebral palsy and chronic lung disease.

Adams ran for the Bryan family and Steel Magnolia Moms, a local charity that helps mothers of children with special needs. Jonah was there to cheer on his favorite marathon runner, holding a sign that read, “Go LaToya! RUN.

“That’s the motivation you need,” Adams said. “I can manage some pain, put on a CT patch or take an aspirin. After all, I still do it for them.”

Adams is doing it again this year, running a full marathon on Sunday morning as well as We Are Houston 5K on Saturday. There will also be a half marathon on Sunday, with about 33,000 runners.

And Adams is running again on behalf of Steel Magnolia Moms, one of 63 charities that benefited this year from the Run for a Reason marathon program, which began in 1995 and has since raised about $35 million for charities in the Houston area. About 1,100 runners participate in the fundraising program each year, according to Augie Rayner, charity program manager for the Houston Marathon Committee.

Reiner said other participating runners have raised far more money than Adams, who has received about $9,000 in charitable donations since running the marathon. Reiner says Adams is unique in that she has supported several different organizations over the years, including Sunshine Kids, Ronald McDonald House, Special Olympics, and Friends of Down Syndrome.

What also sets Adams apart, according to Morgan Bryan and Steel Magnolia Moms founder Elizabeth Elder, is that she has taken a personal interest in and involvement with the 7-year-old organization and some of the families she helps. Adams attends some of the events hosted by the Steel Magnolia Moms, which host wellness workshops, support group meetings, and retreats, and has become a friend of the Bryan family, even attending some of Jonah’s football games.

LaToya Adams

Adams also maintained a relationship with one of her previous beneficiaries. She said she runs fitness classes for friends with Down syndrome once a month or two.

“We love LaToya,” Elder said. “We are so happy to have her on our team. We are lucky to have her on our team.”

Some of the families associated with the Steel Magnolia Moms also drew inspiration from Adams. Their budding relationship prompted Morgan Bryan to run the 5k last year and her husband Travis to run the full marathon this year.

The reason Adams is running for the Steel Magnolia Moms for the second year in a row is because she made a pact with beneficent mother Shannon Essex, who Elder said promised to run the marathon this year if Adams stayed on the team.

Morgan Bryan said the organization, which has grown from 18 members in 2016 to over 1,600 this year, was also touched by the fact that Adams was not previously associated with Steel Magnolia Moms or its beneficiary families before deciding to raise for them money.

“She was just such a force,” Brian said. “For someone who didn’t know us to be moved by this case, that’s a pretty big deal. It made us feel like an official organization and not just a group of moms.”

Adams’ path to marathon running began when she was 19, when she was overweight, had high blood pressure, and was told she was at risk for diabetes. She began to play sports and run, starting with 5K events and then moving on to longer distances, and realized quite early that she wanted to participate in charity-related races.

After moving to Houston, where Adams also began bodybuilding, she made it her goal to compete in the city’s annual marathon every year she turned 30. She has always been a part of Run for a Reason, which allows Adams to have her entry fees covered by a charity she supports, as long as she raises at least $500 or $1,000, depending on the charity.

LaToya Adams

Adams has already surpassed her fundraising goal for this year by raising $2,550 for Steel Magnolia Moms. Donations can be made on her online fundraising page until mid-February.

“We are extremely grateful to them for their efforts to help their community,” Reiner said of runners like Adams.

Even though her original plan was to stop running the marathon at age 40, Adams said she intends to continue running the Houston Marathon for as long as her body allows. And even after that, according to her, she will continue to raise funds in connection with this event.

Families like the Brians are grateful for this. John’s mother said he loves to brag about the fact that Adams is “running for me,” and she also endeared John’s sister, 6-year-old Quinn Bryan.

Jonah, Morgan and Quinn are planning to line up around the 6-mile mark on Sunday to cheer on Travis Bryan and Adams. So maybe Adams will already have the inspiration she usually needs at the 18 mile mark.

“They give me so much more than I can ever give them,” Adams said. “Going out and running a race is definitely a privilege, having the health and stamina to do it.

“But in the end it doesn’t mean anything,” she added. “Charity organizations and the people they help face these ailments every day. The least I can do is raise funds and get attention.”