Running for a diabetes cure

Deepa Bharath

For more than five months, Mark and Bicvan Brown have taken weekly

20-mile runs from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach and back.

On Oct. 28, they’ll trade their balmy beaches for the streets of

Dublin, Ireland, where they will run a 26.2-mile marathon to benefit

the American Diabetes Assn.

The Newport Beach couple is determined to raise $9,000 for the

cause.

“It’s been a great experience for both of us,” Bicvan Brown said.

“You not only learn how to run a marathon, but how to help others.”

As part of their fund-raising drive, the Harp Inn in Costa Mesa

will donate 10% of all revenue generated tonight to the Browns for

their cause. In addition, local restaurants have also contributed

gift certificates for a raffle, she said.

Mark Brown was drawn to supporting diabetes research because his

mother is a diabetic.

“Recently, she suffered from very low blood sugar,” he said. “We

spent a night with her in the emergency room.”

The runners who will participate in the event are not professional

athletes but ordinary people from different walks of life, he added.

Also part of the Newport Beach team going to Ireland is Jessica

Ching, who has been a diabetic for 23 years.

“I’ve been using an insulin pump for 10 years now,” she said. “It

saved my life and I’m determined to get the word out.”

Ching said she started training for the marathons a few years ago.

She has run two half-marathons that span 13.1 miles, but this is her

first time running the full marathon.

“It’s unbelievable,” she said. “I came so close to the end with

diabetes, but now I’ve swung to the other end.”

* DEEPA BHARATH covers public safety and courts. She may be

reached at (949) 574-4226 or by e-mail at [email protected].