Every $ Counts

For the first time in my running career, I am running a race with a charity team.   I have been fundraising for the James Blake Foundation the past few months, and with a few more donations I will be halfway to my goal.  I pledged to raise a minimum of $3,000 for this charity.  Every donation goes directly to the charity that is doing great work in researching cures for cancer and bringing new discoveries more quickly to cancer patients.  I couldn’t be happier to be doing my part in the fight to end this terrible disease.

Through the kind donations of so many of my friends, family members, bloggers and other social media contacts in the running community and beyond, I am closing in on my goal.  I really wanted to push the envelope and hopefully reach my goal by the end of Summer.  Well, Summer officially begins very soon.

Won’t you please consider a tax deductible donation to this fine charity today?

Fundraising Websites – Crowdrise

This link takes you directly to my fundraising page, where every dollar counts!

As an added bonus for the next several weeks, I am partnering with Angie, who has a small business selling headbands.  She hand sews these, and makes each with runners love!  We came up with a few new styles for the Summer…

Any donation you make toward my charity $10 and up will score you one of these unique headbands.  And because Angie is super cool, and runs about every race her legs can handle, so has decided to throw in a special offer to help me reach my goal even quicker.  You see, she makes headbands in about a billion styles, as evidenced here….

And here…..

And here….

See? I told you!  Angie’s special offer?  For any donation $20 and up directly to my fundraising page, you will get the stars pattern or chevron pattern (your choice), and then she is going to send you a second headband from her inventory as an added bonus.  It’s like buying mystery pins at Disney.  It’s a great deal, but you don’t know which one you get until you open the package.

You can head over to Angie’s blog here. https://www.marathang.wordpress.com. You’ll see, when you check out her blog that she runs practically every race that exists!  Lol. I think she is maybe more of a running addict than I am.  Angie’s generosity is incredible, and I am so thankful to her for supporting my cause in this unique way.

Heckuva Hodgepodge

Finally with a day off, my post today is all about randomness.  So many things to discuss, but not enough time.  You see, I have pretty much been working nonstop the last three weeks, so today this is me!

I usually don’t watch a whole lot of TV, especially during the mornings and afternoon.  Lucky for me though, I have something awesome to watch on TV as I rest my weary feet.  The French Open!  You see, I am a diehard tennis player/fan, so spending time watching a Major on television is pure joy for me today.  Roger Federer just lost, but one of my favorite women won today and is on to the Semifinals.

Yep, Ana Ivanovic from Serbia.  She won the whole thing back in 2008, and I was instantly a fan.  So much fun to watch her play, especially when she is playing well!

In between folding loads of laundry and cleaning up the kitchen, I have been working on fundraising efforts for the James Blake Foundation.  I currently have three dirt bikes listed on Craigslist and all proceeds from the sale of these bikes will be donated to this charity.  You can make a donation to this awesome charity fighting the good fight against cancer with amazing research.  I am currently working with Angie from https://marathang.wordpress.com.   Promoting her headband business, we came up with a few styles currently for sale on her website.  She is donating half of the proceeds from the sale of these headbands to my fundraiser, so any donation $10 and up will score you a headband.

Check them out on her blog, or click on the following link to my fundraiser.

Fundraising Websites – Crowdrise

In addition to relaxing today, and getting a few chores done, I got a neat email a little while ago.  I’ve been selected to return for a second year as an ambassador for the All American Marathon!  A race that is a ton of fun to run and represent, this military event is taking place April 2, 2016 and runs from Fayetteville, NC into Ft. Bragg.

So proud to be a part of this amazing race!

So, what kind of hodgepodge of things have you gotten yourself into today?  Don’t forget that tomorrow is National Running Day, and quite often you can score some great deals on running shoes, apparel and even discounted race entries.  I know that Rock n Roll is offering a discount on many of its races tomorrow.  Have you seen any others?  Please share here if you have!

Chicago X 2

It’s all luck of the draw, right?

Here are some important facts…  I’ve entered four race lotteries in the past five years.  I put my name in the hat for the 2012 NYC Marathon, results?  Didn’t get in!  I put my name in the hat for the NYC marathon for 2015.  Results?  Didn’t get picked.  So, from the state in which I was born, my record is 0-2.

I entered the lottery for the 2014 Chicago marathon.  The results?

I entered again this year, and BOOM!  The email came early yesterday morning, that low and behold, I am IN, again!  So my record for Chicago?  2-0.  Chicago must be my kind of town!

I can go back!  I had the time of my life in Chicago last year, and I would love to return.  Now, I just have to figure out how I can do it.  I would love to be able to get lined up again with the thousands of runners, and experience the million fans alongside the course.  I just now have to look at my budget, and figure out if I can swing it.  And, I won’t in good conscience, head off to Chicago unless I meet my fundraising goal.

You see, for those of you that missed my posts about NYC.  My utter disappointment in the fact that I didn’t get chosen again for New York, I decided to look into running for charity.  I reached out to a charity foundation that had some meaning to me.  I reached out to the folks at the James Blake Foundation, a charity raising money for cancer research, and they accepted me onto their marathon team.

I had to pay for my race entry (it wasn’t free), and I accepted the challenge to raise a minimum of $3,000 for this charity.  I kicked off my fundraising with a $100 personal donation to the charity.  To date, through the generous donations of friends, family and fellow runners, I’m nearing $1,000 toward my fundraising goal.

But, I can’t reach my goal without more help.  Help from folks like you!  People reading this blog post, folks I interact with through social media.  Will you please consider a donation in any amount to help this cause?

You can donate by clicking on the following link…  Thank you!

Fundraising Websites – Crowdrise

What can you buy for $10?

If you’re like me, most of the time you don’t have any cash in your pocket.  Real cash is quickly being replaced by plastic.  Debit cards are the new green.  I rarely use bills, and I’m lucky if I ever find one in my wallet.  Every time my son asks for some lunch or gas money, my answer is typically “I don’t have any”.  I’m bad, aren’t I?  I just usually don’t have it.  I do 99% of my banking online, and walking into a bank or even using an ATM is a rarity for me.

It makes me think back to the days when I was young.  My Mother always had cash.  If she needed something at the grocery store, she would ask me to grab a $10 bill out of her purse and head down to the store. That $10 may have bought five pork chops, a gallon of milk, a six pack of soda, dozen eggs, and loaf of bread.  What happens over time though?  Inflation!  Things are expensive, even simple things.  In today’s society, that just seems so foreign.  It begs the question, “if asked to grab a $10 bill out of your Mom’s purse today, what could it buy you”?

-One movie ticket (in some cities, not even that)

-Two submarine sandwiches

-Two Venti Latte’s at Starbucks

-A t-shirt

-4.5 gallons of gas (at today’s prices)

-2 beers on a Friday night

That’s right!  You can’t get a whole lot these days, but you can use that $10 for a great reason.  If you could give up that trip to Starbucks for one day, you could help with cancer research.  You could help cure a disease, versus line the pockets of the coffee giants.

I am fundraising to run the NYC Marathon, and have joined the James Blake Foundation charity team.  Won’t you please consider donating $10 toward my cause?

Donating is easy, and you don’t even need those bills that probably aren’t in your purse or wallet anyway.  You can use a debit or credit card.  Simple and fast!  Lickety split!

The following link will take you directly to my fundraising site where you can make a donation in any amount.  Thank you so much!

Fundraising Websites – Crowdrise