Leif's Legacy 5k Run/Walk: ALASKA

Thanks for visiting our page and supporting our efforts to raise awareness to premature birth, pregnancy loss, and infant death. The Leif Aleutian Foundation is a NJ non-profit foundation formed by Brian and Jen Larsen, parents to Leif Aleutian.  Leif's Legacy is a 5k Run & Walk founded in memory of their son whom died in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) after living 52 hours earth-side. Leif died from a premature birth at 26.3 weeks. 

Our Story: Brian and Jen's 20 week anatomy sonogram in August 2019 showed complete placenta previa. While working in Alaska, Jen was medi-vaced out of Skagway to Seattle, WA for severe bleeding which led to further knowledge about the pregnancy. They experienced complete placenta previa and placenta percreta, leading to multiple events of severe bleeding and the premature delivery of Leif Aleutian on October 11. Doctors and staff within the University of Washington Medical Center NICU worked with Leif to give him the best chance of survival, but his lungs were too under-developed to sustain breathing on his own. Leif passed away on Oct 13, 2019 after a 52 hour fight for his life. 

This foundation and race are developed by his family to raise awareness to premature birth and infant death, helping more of the public realize how frequent infant loss occurs (1 in 4 women), while supporting further research and care for infants and babies. Proceeds from the 2023 race will be donated to 2 medical facilities, Shore Medical Center's Special Care Nursery in Somers Point, NJ, and the Dahl Memorial Clinic in Skagway, Alaska.