Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
- Miguel Martinez is training for the Salt Lake City Marathon on a recumbent bike.
- He aims to honor his daughter, Laur'en, who died from fentanyl poisoning.
- Martinez seeks to raise funds for The Haven, a drug addiction treatment center.
WEST JORDAN — It's not always about how fast you go. Sometimes, it's just about going.
"I had a stroke in 2021, and then I have had eight surgeries since," Miguel Martinez said while sitting on his recumbent bike. "I used to mountain bike all the time."
However, every push of the pedal lately isn't for his recovery.
It is to bring him a little closer to someone he'll never see again: his daughter, Laur'en.
"I got the call at five in the morning from my grandson that his mom had passed, and it has been the most difficult time for all the family," Martinez said.
Laur'en Martinez, 35 years old and the mother of three children, died this past December from fentanyl poisoning after a relapse that Miguel Martinez, an addiction counselor himself, never saw coming.
"She was doing well, and she had been to see me about 10 days before then, and we had been in contact on the phone, and like I said, I was shocked," said Martinez. "Every time I talk to a young female patient, I see my daughter and I have what they call countertransference daily. The first thing I do is I tell them what happened to my daughter, and I say I do not want to see this happen to you."
Now, this heartbroken father is using grief for fuel.
Martinex is training for the Salt Lake City Marathon on his recumbent bike to honor his daughter, as well as raise money for The Haven, the very drug addiction treatment center that once helped her.
"I believe in addiction treatment, and it works for many people," Martinez said.
Riding a full marathon certainly isn't easy, especially for someone who is partially disabled from his stroke, but for Martinez, the hardest part of it all already happened.
"It is a parent's worst nightmare, and it is something that will never go away, so I am hoping to turn this into a yearly event," he said. "The grief will never stop but we can turn it into something positive for others."
The Salt Lake City Marathon is Saturday, April 26.
You can help Martinez on his GoFundMe* page where he said all proceeds will go to The Haven and their drug addiction treatment programs.
*KSL.com does not assure that the money deposited to the account will be applied for the benefit of the persons named as beneficiaries. If you are considering a deposit to the account, you should consult your own advisers and otherwise proceed at your own risk.
