For 36 young adults from Holy Spirit Church west of downtown Los Angeles and their youth minister, Oscar Romero, March 19 was not a lazy Sunday to sleep in.

Instead, they spent the chilly, early dawn hours in front of the downtown library applying sunscreen, praying and trying to stay warm as they prepared to spend several hours running 26.2 miles of asphalt in the Los Angeles Marathon.

The group had a much higher purpose for the race: joining about 250 other priests, religious sisters, seminarians and parishioners in the annual "Run for Vocations."

"Their vocation is not only to serve inside the church, it is also to be outside," said Romero of his young adults. It is a lesson he hopes the "Run for Vocations" will instill in them long after the race is over.

Now in its 18th year, the "Run for Vocations" sponsored by the archdiocese is a fun, creative way to draw attention and spark prayers for vocations to the priesthood and religious life. Instead of soliciting for monetary donations, participants collect sponsors that pledge to offer prayers for vocations.

Wearing neon green T-shirts with "I do not run aimlessly" (1 Corinthians 9:26) emblazoned across the back, participants of every age in the "Run for Vocations" were easily identified from the throng of people running the marathon. In addition to the runners, 25 cyclists biked the course wearing shirts that read "I have finished the race; I have kept the faith" from 1 Timothy.

Each participant also carried a prayer card they attached to their shirts with 26 prayer offerings --- one for every mile. Though the "Run for Vocations" is now completed by lay people, Sister Kathy Bryant, seminarians director of the archdiocesan Office for Vocations and founder of the "Run for Vocations, said that the run originally was designed to be done by priests, sisters and seminarians. Lay people so enjoyed cheering for the participants and praying for vocations that they asked to be included.

"It is the positive ways to create an awareness of the need for vocations," Sister Bryant said. "The marathon captivates the city for the day. People will connect it with vocations and it reminds them to pray for vocations."

In addition to the runners, more than 500 Catholics served at water stations, carry signs and cheer at strategic places along the marathon route.

The night before the race, a group of the runners, walkers and cyclists attended Mass at St. Agatha Church, Los Angeles, with Father Tom Baker, pastor of Sacred Heart in Lancaster, presiding and blessing the runners' shoes. The Serra Club then sponsored a pasta dinner for participants.

A triathlete and six-year participant in the "Run for Vocations," Father Baker said the run is particularly important for Los Angeles because Cardinal Roger Mahony has designated this year as the year to pray for priestly vocations.

"It is very positive statement for the church," Father Baker said about the run. "I think one big step is just bringing the awareness to people that we are a Catholic community determined to try make a difference and we are expressing a need for vocations."

Cheered on by about 100 Sacred Heart parishioners at mile 23, Father Baker brought about 30 sheets of vocation prayer sponsors, especially from the parish school students, religious education students and youth ministry members.

Other priest-participants included Father George Horan, of the Office of Restorative Justice; Father Francisco Vitela, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in El Monte, who ran the race with about 60 parishioners; and first-year priest Father John Tinh Tran, associate pastor of St. Lawrence Martyr in Redondo Beach, who in the past has run the race as a layperson and also as a seminarian.

Laura Diaz, youth minister at St. John Etudes in Chatsworth, stood outside of her church after all of the Masses during the weekend of March 12 and asked parishioners to serve as sponsors for her run.

Shortly after the start of the race, St. Vincent Church at Adams and Figueroa, at about the second mile of the route, kept their church bells tolling for the runners for almost a half an hour. Parish youth from St. Brendan in Hancock Park, also along the route, manned a support station and cheered for runners. Parishioners of St. Mary Magdalene also served at a water station at the corner of Pico and Stanley. And some 240 parishioners from Holy Spirit Parish manned two water stations along the route.

Romero believes that, through the discipline of training for the marathon and after completing the race on their own, it will teach the students that they can have endurance throughout their lives and they can accomplish great things. They also offer their "physical and mental sacrifice to run 26.2 miles for vocations. He said that their collective goal is always to finish the race.

"When they think about their youth life, they will have a very good memory," he said. "When they cross the finish line, they will know they did it by themselves.