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TEXAS: Houston Family Runs For A Reason 03:37 PM CST on Wednesday, December 31, 2003 By Nancy Holland / 11 News HOUSTON -- While a lot of Houston is already focusing on the excitement of the Super Bowl, another event will actually get here first. The Houston Marathon is coming up January 18. It's a marathon, half marathon, and 5K. And four generations of one family are running for a reason. When the winners cross the line at the marathon it is a sure bet it won't be anyone from one local family. Even so, four generations, with an 85-year age difference, will be in the 5K. "I love it," says 87-year-old Sam Proler. "I'm gonna jog." "He said, when I told him I was gonna do this, he said, 'You can walk and I'll jog around you,'" says Proler's daughter, Nina Brown. It is something they can share. "Really as a family, we all like to exercise," says Gregg Brown. "And do a lot of exercise." And it's something that crosses the years. "I've done some kiddie runs," says 10-year-old Ryan Brown. "But this is the longest that I've raced." And it is something more. Thousands of others will run. They'll run farther, they'll run faster, but perhaps no one will run with more concern about each other than the members of the Brown family. Those who run in any of the events can do so for charity, including the Houston Area Parkinson Society. That is the organization this family supports. Members hope to raise money for research, and to help those who struggle with the disease each day. People like Nina Brown, daughter, mother, grandmother and race participant who has lived 17 years with Parkinson's. "I'm going to have a back up team with a scooter just in case I don't make it," says Nina. "But I think the adrenaline will kick in and I'm going to do my best to make the finish line." Her family knows she'll do it. "Oh, you don't know how proud I am of Nina," says her husband, Joe Brown. They all will make it to the finish line, and winning doesn't always mean crossing the line first. SOURCE: 11 News / KHOU, United States http://tinyurl.com/2w275 * * * ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn