3 races, a walk and more at Sunday’s emb(race)

A video of Shawn Friedkin on his hand-powered cycle ready to roll is posted on the website to register for the fifth annual “emb(race) our differences” on Sunday.

Forget that Friedkin is 51, paralyzed from the chest down and just took part in the New York City Marathon.

“The goal was to finish and I did and came in, in the middle of the pack,” said Friedkin in his usual self-effacing style. “It was in the 30s with 25 mph sustained winds. Normally I do the marathon in two hours and it took me two and a half hours.”

Set to welcome at least 1,100 people near his Stand Among Friends office on the Florida Atlantic University campus, the founder thinks he may do the half-marathon. A 5K and 10K start at 7 a.m. and a 1-mile family walk is set for 9:15 a.m., after the awards ceremony.

“The longer-distance races start earlier and are mostly finished between 8:30 and 8:45, so if they have family members or friends they can do the walk together,” Friedkin said. “To me that’s one of the coolest things we do. You don’t have to be an athlete with disability training for the Paralympics. At emb(race), everybody comes across the finish line.”

How late can runners sign up on the website?

People can register online until Friday evening at http://standamongfriends.kintera.org/faf/home/default.asp?ievent=1113769. If they pre-register, they can come to the Stand Among Friends office Saturday during the day to pick up their race information and get a shirt. Everyone who registers and pays the fees also gets a goody bag. [The fees are $20 for the walk, $25 for 5K, $35 for 10K and $85 for half-marathon].

How much do you expect to raise?

We did $140,000 last year, and we’d like to top that. The money goes to Stand Among Friends’ placement programs, assistive technologies, vocational evaluations, peer mentoring and community outreach. You can donate directly on the Stand Among Friends website at http://standamongfriends.org/.

Do most people sign up in advance?

Usually 10 to 15 percent of the people sign up the day of the race. We don’t really differentiate. We have professional runners and people who come out for the first time and may push a wheelchair. There’s been a huge push for people to register in the last week or so. Check-in that day is 6 to 7 a.m.

Runners usually love the medals ceremony.

We have some pretty cool medals. Anyone who finishes gets a finishers’ medal for any of the distances and the winners get gold, silver and bronze medals.

Do you see a lot of teams at emb(race)?

Modernizing Medicine has a really big team and I went to speak to the company. There’s no doubt a personal touch helps. It’s great to see the community coming out. Literally it’s happiness in the air from 1 month old to 99 years old.

What else will you have?

Face painting, balloons, food vendors and 45 booths. This is not just disability focused. There’s something for everyone to participate.