Georgios Lappas is running for stroke and cardiovascular disease awareness

"The experience so far has been something else — this team is full of people who motivate you even more, especially with their stories and comebacks."

Georgios Lappas is running for stroke and cardiovascular disease awareness. Georgios Lappas

March 9, 2020

1 minute to read

In our “Why I’m Running” series, Boston Marathon runners share what’s inspiring them to make the 26.2-mile trek from Hopkinton to Boston. If you’re running the marathon, you can share your #WhyImRunningBoston story here.

Name: Georgios Lappas
Age: 25
From: Weymouth, Massachusetts

My name is Georgios Lappas. I am 25 years old and was born and raised in Weymouth. I will be running my second consecutive Boston Marathon on April 20 with Tedy’s Team! A journey that simply started out to get back in shape has absolutely changed my life. My first ever race was a 3-mile spartan race that soon became a few a year, to eventually half marathons.

On March 28, 2016, things changed a lot in my life. My father suffered a fatal heart attack at work and left us all too soon. He was my everything, from my best friend, to my soccer coach, to my first boss. He raised my brother and I to have an incredible work ethic and to always push ourselves to achieve our dreams. Running to me at the time became the greatest thing possible; it was those runs that let me deal with the tough times that followed and helped me fight through. This year I have the incredible honor of running for a charity whose main causes are stroke and cardiovascular disease awareness. The experience so far has been something else — this team is full of people who motivate you even more, especially with their stories and comebacks.

My goal is to have raised over $7,500 come Marathon Monday, but also to help spread awareness of heart and stroke disease. It’s a simple phrase; BE FAST. It stands for Balance, Eyesight, Face drooping, weak Arms, Speech difficulty, and Time to call 911. You might save someone’s life by doing this, but you will also be more educated on both diseases. Check out the Tedy’s team website to learn more about warning signs and incredible things they are doing. See you all on April 20.

Editor’s note: Entry may have been lightly edited for clarity or grammar.