LUBBOCK, Texas — In February, Tony Mikel Samarripa was in the middle of training for the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon.
His goal was to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental health issues, especially after he made an attempt on his own life.
When the time came to actually run in the marathon, Samarripa did much better than he would've imagined.
Out of over 1800 runners, Samarripa finished just inside the Top 100 with a time of 3:19:28.
“My goal was just finish it in under four hours because that sounds nice, it sounds good. Like, 'hey, I've finished a marathon in under four hours,'" said Samarripa. "Then I looked at the time on my watch and I was like, 'whoa, I'm going fast.'”
The Oklahoma Memorial Marathon stuck out to him because it aligned with the motto he has stuck by since his own suicide attempt: Be Alive Tomorrow.
“The whole inception of it was created by the Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon...we run to remember individuals lost to suicide and addiction," said Samarripa. "The Oklahoma City Memorial Marathon runs to remember individuals who lost their life in that bombing on April 19.”
The marathon allows runners to represent someone who lost their life in the Oklahoma City terrorist attack. Samarripa's choice was Baylee Almon… who was only one years old during the attack.
Not only did he run for her, but he also ran with the support of his whole family.
“Be Alive Tomorrow was in full effect in OKC," said Samarripa. "My family actually traveled with me to OKC. My dad, my mom, my aunt, my uncle, my cousins, nieces. We all had Be Alive Tomorrow shirts on and we were asked about it like crazy.”
While he does intend to keep running, with the goal of qualifying in the Boston Marathon, the next step in his journey is to spread suicide awareness on the stage.
“My next mission is to become a motivational speaker," said Samarripa. "I want to take 'Be Alive Tomorrow' into high school auditoriums, college campuses, into the community and share my survivor story and also share what Be Alive Tomorrow means as far as suicide prevention goes.”
While he may not know everything about being a motivational speaker, he firmly believes that spreading his own personal story to people who have similar struggles is the best way to save a life.
“If me becoming a motivational speaker is going to help save someone's life and sharing my story is going to make an impact on somebody out there that is struggling just like I was, I think I need to do my due diligence and learn what that's about and do it," said Samarripa. "It's gonna be bumpy at first and there's going to be things to learn. There's going to be hurdles to hop over but I'm willing to do it if it means I'm going to save somebody's life.”
Samarripa is trying to turn 'Be Alive Tomorrow' into a non-profit and a fundraiser helped over twelve thousand people get free or reduced mental health resources.