This Sunday, over 50,000 participants will run the Chicago Marathon, many in support of charities and non-profits. Viatorian Youth Leader German Laiton will run and fundraise for Team Esperanza, and his heart for mission and service has been formed in part by Viatorians.
German is now an engineering student at Illinois Tech in Chicago, but his Viatorian roots go back to his native Colombia, where Fr. Fredy Santos, CSV, baptized him and helped connect his family to the Viatorians and Colegio San Viator. In 2019, the school sent a delegation of students to the Viatorian Youth Congress in the Arlington Heights-Chicago region, and German loved his experience.

German (seated, green shirt) clicked with then-Br. John at VYC 2019 over some morning runs, which got him into running as a hobby and favorite way to exercise.
“VYC helped me start down a path toward deeper spirituality, and it helped me create important relationships I keep up today. To be honest, it changed my life,” German said this summer, when he led VYC 2025. “At VYC 2019, then-Br. John Eustice did morning runs, and it got me into running. It became a great hobby that helps me gain clarity. When I overthink things or get a bit anxiety, running helps me get calm.”
He wanted to come to the US for college and was accepted to Olivet Nazarene University in Bourbonnais, IL, where he started studying engineering. Leaving Colombia came with some comfort, knowing he had friends from VYC already there around Illinois, including friendly faces at Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Church, our Viatorian parish next door to ONU.
At ONU, German took part in campus faith-based groups for prayer and reflection and came to Mass and discussions at Maternity BVM. He also kept up with running and even joined ONU’s cross country and track and field teams.
After a couple years at ONU, he transferred to Illinois Tech, which had stronger support for international students and higher name recognition in the engineering world. So far, he’s landed internships with the Village of Romeoville and three different engineering firms in the city.

German has worked hard toward a career in engineering with dedicated studies and several internships, but this summer, he was able to carve out a week to serve as a Young Adult Leader for VYC 2025.
Now, as he moves toward the finish line at college, he’s training, too, for the Chicago Marathon and fundraising for Esperanza Health Centers. The group addresses the lack of accessible services on the city’s southwest side through its seven sites and a focus on bilingual healthcare, particularly in women’s health, pediatrics, and wellness. German is almost to his goal of $2,100 toward the efforts of his marathon team.
“I wanted to help a community that has helped me so much in the US. So many people from the Mexican community have been so giving to me support me, around Bourbonnais, from St. John Paul II in Kankakee, and in Chicago here,” German said. “I’ve seen hardworking people struggle with access to quality healthcare, and if there’s a community I can give back to, it’s them. This fundraising is a small way to help how I can.”
Viatorians such as Fr. John Eustice, CSV, and Fr. Dan Hall, CSV, are experienced marathon runners, and they have often run to fundraise for veterans’ assistance, in addition to relishing the exercise and spirituality of the long run. German now adds his chapter to this book, striving to bring hope to Chicagoans sometimes accounted of little importance, and thinking about trying to start a marathon fundraising team for Viator House of Hospitality next.
During his marathon training,
German has been sharing some realizations and lessons
and posting them to friends on Instagram.
It’s meant to help the team fundraiser as well as
be authentic and human about some of these processes.