The Countdown

And Add Up

I’ve just learned that donors have contributed $6,000 dollars in memory of my dad, Paul, to further the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society’s mission to end blood cancer. This amount is extraordinarily generous and a real tribute to the cause. This total is the highest raised by any Denver Marathon team member this season and triple the minimum required to run with the team! I’m indebted to those who found ways to contribute despite the personal and financial challenges that many are dealing with, and can only offer my sincerest thanks for your benevolence. All told, the Denver Marathon runners and walkers have amassed $168,000! This will be pooled with thousands of other athletes around the country that have made the commitment to the team. If there is anyone that would still like to contribute, please feel welcome to do so by clicking here.

My training has essentially concluded; these last few weeks I’ve been tapering: running fewer miles and minutes to restore muscles and promote generally good health in the few days before the race. I think I’ve prepared soundly and with great intention and expect to accomplish my personal goal of qualifying for the Boston Marathon by completing the race in under 3 hours 10 minutes and 59 seconds. But the marathon is a long race and anything can happen. Despite all of the preparation- the hundreds of miles, and the thousands of minutes,  race day stands apart. I’ll need to average 7 minutes and 15 seconds over the 26.2 miles to meet my goal and this will be difficult. My mom, aunt, and brother, Thomas, will be along the course to cheer for me, 60 other teammates will don purple shirts to try to meet their goals on the course, and a handful of coaches and staff from Team In Training will be along the route to help with anything that might come up. I know when this race becomes especially hard for me, I’ll also think  of the many of you that have visited my blog, shared words of support, and contributed to my personal campaign. It will be hard for me to think I can’t do it.

The starting gun will fire at 7 AM this Sunday morning in the golden shadow of the Colorado State Capitol dome and at least 12,000 runners from around the world will wind through the wide streets of Lower Downtown Denver and the imposing architecture of the Central Business District. They’ll pass historic Union Station and the now-quiet diamond at Coors Field. They’ll link City Park, Cheesman Park and Washington Park with steady footsteps and determined will. 26.2 miles later they’ll finish right back where they started. They’ll all be out there for their own reasons, great and humble, and I’ll be out there for mine. And in that way, you’ll be there too. I look forward to telling you all about it.

For some additional inspiration, here I have a link to a couple news stories highlighting some of my teammates. Once at the local news website, type “leukemia” and “mararthon” in the search bar.