CHARLOTTESVILLE, VA (CVILLE RIGHT NOW) – Like so many of the men and women who played college lacrosse at the University of Virginia in the past decade, the memory of the 2010 murder of Yeardley Love at the hands of her ex-boyfriend is something Max Wooten carries with him.

Now Wooten, a Charlottesville native, Albemarle High School graduate and former UVA men’s lacrosse player, is doing his part to support the organization that works to combat relationship abuse in Love’s honor.

Wooten will be running the New York City Marathon on Nov. 1, raising money for the One Love Foundation.

“Yeardley’s story has always been close to me,” Wooten told Cville Right Now. “Growing up in Charlottesville, growing up in the lacrosse community, her story and her legacy was definitely prominent. I went on to be fortunate to play lacrosse at Virginia. It’s important to me to carry her legacy forward.”

Wooten played for the Cavaliers from 2022-2025. He now lives and works in New York. And while he’s no stranger to athletic pursuits, this will be his first marathon.

“This is the first trial run for me on the marathon circuit,” Wooten said with a laugh. “I wasn’t doing too much long-distance running. So, this is definitely pushing me outside my comfort zone, but obviously for a great cause.”

Wooten said he’s been training since the first week of June, enlisting his girlfriend, Brooke Sullivan – who has run the Cape Cod Marathon and will be running the Marine Corps Marathon in October – to help get him ready for his run. Wooten has been running five to six days a week, ending many weeks with an 18-mile run on Sundays. He said he uses a Garmin watch to gather data on his training runs and to help plan his recovery.

So, what is his goal when he runs the marathon?

“I would love to just complete it,” said Wooten. “The goal is not to walk. I think typically people will go in and just try and run sub-4 hours. I’d like to think I can get a little bit better than that. Maybe like 3:50, 3:40. But at the end of the day, it’s supposed to be a celebration. It’s a great event up here in New York and obviously dedicating a lot of time and effort to fundraising for One Love, that’s what’s most important.”

Wooten hopes to raise at least $4,000 himself. One Love will have about 15 runners representing it at the New York City Marathon, the organization’s CEO, former UVA women’s lacrosse coach, Julie Myers told Cville Right Now on Thursday. She said Nike has agreed to provide the runners with One Love-brand apparel for the race.

“I don’t know if there’s anything that can touch my heart more than people talking about Yeardley, remembering her story, and just really remembering what’s come from it, which is a whole lot of good,” Myers said.

Myers said One Love is also hosting a Rally for Love pickleball tournament in Charlottesville, at Cville Smash, on Sept. 20, and a Tee Up For One Love golf tournament at the Club at Glenmore in Keswick, on Sept. 21, as charity fundraisers.

Wooten’s family owns Orzo Restaurant. To support his efforts, the restaurant will be contributing 10% of its proceeds every Tuesday in September to his marathon fundraiser.

Myers said people all over can and do host events to benefit One Love.

“There’s a family in Maryland who lost their sister a couple of years ago to domestic abuse and relationship violence,” Myers said. “They hold a 5k and they raise almost $100,000 that will come to One Love. I like to think One Love is for everyone.”

While the foundation is headquartered in Baltimore, Myers – a UVA alum who coached her alma mater for 28 years before stepping down in 2023 – said Charlottesville and the University of Virginia remain central to the One Love mission.

“Charlottesville is such a huge part of our story,” Myers said. “It’s where Yeardley wanted to come and had dreamt of coming. It’s where her dad came to school. And, of course, it’s where we lost her. Charlottesville and UVA will always be tied to Yeardley and One Love. We’re just trying to do our best with maximizing that relationship and keeping people connected.”

Efforts like Wooten’s help with that work.