“I was introduced to WeRock in 2017 through a friend who’s son participated in WeRock. My son joined as a 7th grader and within 6 months saw an incredible transformation in what he knew he could accomplish. After a few months I started joining him for his Saturday practices and officially joined WeRock as an Assistant Coach for the 2018-2019 season. I have been fortunate to participate as a parent and coach of a WeRock student for a few years now and have seen the incredible personal growth my own children have developed through the program. As the pandemic took hold of our economy and changed our lives in March 2020 I ached for my son and the kids I coached seeing all their hard work slip away into the unknown of what the future would look like. My fears were short-lived however as Coach K and the team quickly mobilized and transitioned to a new way of life and training. Our family united behind us, and I witnessed firsthand other families following suit to support and motivate their runners. Running through parks and familiar trails once frequented by our large team together we instead witnessed families coming together biking and running alongside their kids. In May when we were supposed to run the OC Marathon I ventured out our front door with my son and set out to accomplish what we had trained so hard for. Supported by my wife and daughters who met us at predefined checkpoints we ran and finished the 26.2 miles together and crossed our own finish line together as a family. That morning we passed several other WeRockers out running their own marathons with their families. Despite all the bad news in the world during that time this one day illuminated our lives as my younger girls saw how together we can accomplish hard things and that we can achieve our goals despite so many forces pushing against us. 2020 was a hard year for so many, but my family and our extended WeRock family can look back on 2020 and know that during one of the lowest points we accomplished something great!”

Keith Arthur - Head Coach, Parent, & Participant