HelpLouis Echevarria
My name is Louis Echevarria and I’ve lived in New York for 13 years. I’m originally from San Juan, Puerto Rico but I moved to the States around age 6. I’ve been a lifelong runner but I fell in love with distance running once I began running Central Park and the West Side Highway. I’ve run the New York Marathon twice previously and more recently trained for the Berlin Marathon but didn’t run due to COVID restrictions.
I’m passionate about raising money for NAMI because a big part of my family moving when I was younger was my father being diagnosed with Paranoid Schizophrenia when I was in elementary school. My relationship with my father was as close as possible growing up but strained by the challenges of his mental illness. All in all he had a happy and safe life living around family who loved him. Not many with his condition are so lucky. We lost my Dad (Papi) to lung cancer about 10 years ago and I want to raise money to support and advocate for families who are facing similar challenges and honor the memory of my Dad.