Success in NYC!!!!!!

This past Sunday I successfully completed the NYC Marathon. More importantly, with your support and generosity we successfully raised over $4,000 for the Lance Armstrong Foundation. This is something we can all feel good about.


The day started with a 4:15 am wake-up call to make sure there was plenty of time to make a 5:45 am ferry to Staten Island. After a ferry and a bus ride we arrived at the outdoor staging area. The race didn't start until 10:10 am for my wave, so it was a long cold wait.

The wait was well worth it to say the least -- the race starts off with a run across the Verrazano Bridge that leads you into Brooklyn -- what an amazing view/experience. The marathon goes through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan and ends in Central Park. There were at least a million people lining the course cheering you on.

Despite hitting the wall earlier than anticipated (mile 18) I was still able to finish the race in 4 hours and 21 minutes. What got me through the last 8 miles was thinking about the 92 names listed on the back of my shirt (picture below).

The day ended with a LIVESTRONG celebration at a BBQ restaurant where everyone was proudly wearing their marathon medal, walking slowly and were proudly wearing yellow.

In my mind the best way to wrap this blog post up is to say thank you to each of you for your support and generosity. There are no words to describe how thankful I am.

As well, I want to thank my pregnant wife for running all over NYC with my daughter to cheer me on. The two of you mean the world to me and couldn't have done this without you!

As of this morning we've raised over $2,200 for LAF in less than a week. Needless to say I'm truly moved by everyone's generosity and support -- it means the world to me.

As for my training -- yesterday I completed my longest run in the training program (20 miles). As you can see from the graph below I was maintaining a solid pace up until the last 2 miles. The humorous thing is that the last stretch was along a parade route and a number of kids commented to their parents -- "is that guy ok?". :)



On a more serious note, last night I received the unfortunate news that one of my father's colleagues (and family friend) was diagnosed with cancer. He is in my thoughts and prayers -- if anyone can overcome adversity it's him.

Only 25 days until the NYC Marathon and combined my team of LIVESTRONG runners (300 in total) has raised over $502,000.

In preparation for my longest run in the training program, I stopped off at REI last night and bought enough PowerBar Gels to keep even an elephant energized. After Sunday's long run (20 miles) the best part of marathon training begins—the taper.

Thank you to everyone for their generosity and support.



This past weekend I stair stepped down my long run mileage to 14 miles (the week before I ramped up to 18 miles).

START SPREADING THE NEWS

Happy New Year to everyone! To be honest I thought I was going to sit idle for a few years with marathons. Life is what happens when you make plans. In 2009 3 people I think highly of were diagnosed with cancer (colleague, colleague's wife and a close family friend) and have truly shown what it means to have courage and a passion for life.

With my wife and daughter's blessing...the least I could do was was lace up my sneakers and raise some money to take this ugly disease head on. The NYC Marathon is 11 months away, but felt it was blog worthy. :)

Looking forward to a great 2010, celebrating my friends last treatments and hearing each of their victory speeches.

Boston Marathon Less Than 1 Week Away!!!

It's hard to believe that it is April already and the Boston Marathon is on Monday. Please accept my apologies for those who have been checking the blog awaiting an update. Things have been very busy since I crossed the finish line in the Windy City back in October – my wife is pregnant with our first child and started a new job.

While my fingers were idle updating my blog page, my legs have been hard at work training since the end of November for the marathon. The winter months training have had a nice mix of sun, snow, high winds, freezing rain and ice. Despite all this, I'm still smiling and looking forward to Monday.

In terms of fundraising when the gun goes off on the 20th we will have raised over $8,000 for LAF. That's something we can all feel good about. Thank you again for your generous donations and continued support.

If you would like to add a name to my race day shirt there's still time. I’ll be accepting names until tomorrow evening (4/14).

Warmest regards,

Scott

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· I’ll try to Twitter (lakesurfer26) during the marathon which is contingent on the weather and my energy level. Pictures from the marathon (including the race day shirt) will be available within 48 hours of crossing the finish line.

Chicago Marathon!!!

Leading up to the Chicago Marathon was 4.5 months of preparation: 300+ miles and 50+ hours of running, 35,000+ calories burned, 35+ energy gels consumed and the retirement of 1 pair of running shoes.....running a marathon for the Lance Armstrong Foundation; priceless.

Myself and 45,000 of my friends ran the Chicago Marathon on Sunday. It took about 20 minutes to make my way to the starting line after the race officially began (imagine a sea of heads in front of you moving up and down). The race route takes you through 29 Chicago neighborhoods (amazing culturally diverse areas of Chicago) with over 1.5 million spectators cheering you on.


I had such a supportive team cheering me on at multiple points of the race which made it possible to complete the marathon with a smile on my face. A big thank you to my wife, mother-in-law, Carol, Kelly, Sammy, Mom, Dad, John, Paula, Gianna, Marc, Angie and Krupa.

My support squad: Mother-in-Law (Mary), Sister (Samantha), My Wife (Chris), me, Mom (Mary) & Dad (Bob)

One of my best friends from childhood and his family came out to support me. Thanks John, Paul, Gianna and Kyler ( I think you were hiding in the stroller). What a great motivation boost at mile 9.5.

I can not begin to say thank you enough to my wife (Chris) for being so supportive with the training, fundraising and the motivation she provided during the race. Chris jumped in and ran the last 6.2 miles with me. She kept my feet moving and we finished the marathon holding hands as a team (which is what our relationship is all about).


My marathon shirt turned out awesome and the ink did not bleed from my sweat. As I mentioned in my previous blog entry, I went to great lengths to make sure I spelled the names and categorized them correctly. If for some reason I made an error please accept my sincere apology and let me know. The names and stories you provided truly gave me the motivation and focus to train/run the Chicago Marathon. I will be printing a new shirt for the Boston Marathon.

Running the Marathon:
I ran the marathon in 4 hours and 23 minutes. I forgot to turn my iPod Nike Plus off at the end of the race so that is why the image below says 27.76 miles and 4 hours and 32 minutes.


My plan is to keep running on a weekly basis and will officially start training for the Boston Marathon in December/January.


Fundraising:
In two and a half months we have raised over $6,650 (with the pledged donation from a corporate sponsor). I know that I may sound like a broken record but thank you so much everyone for your generous donations, support and inspirational stories. I truly feel blessed.

I was 1 of 30+ Chicago Marathon runners for LAF. As a team we raised over $86,000 (likely to exceed $100k by the end of the month) which will go a long way towards finding a cure in the near future.

Thank You to Everyone! One Marathon Down & One to Go!

Chicago Marathon Time, Race Day Shirt & New Sponsor

The Chicago Marathon is this Sunday and I couldn't be more excited. Family and friends will be cheering me on along the race route which means the world to me. It has been pretty full on the past 2 months with work, fundraising and training....but already this has been one of the most rewarding experiences. I truly have been touched by everyone's support, your personal stories and generosity.

New Corporate Sponsor:
Sun Cupid officially became my lead sponsor as of this week. They are a factory in China that I worked closely with in the past. Kerwin Wong, one of Sun Cupid's employees continues to battle an aggressive form of cancer and they wanted to show him their unified support. With their pledged donation we have raised well over $6,350 for LAF! I want to thank Sun Cupid for their generous donation and continued support/friendship.

Race Day Shirt:
I have finalized the design of my race day shirt and pick it up from the printer on Friday. Below is a rendering I created. I went to great lengths to make sure I spelled the names and categorized them correctly. If for some reason I made an error please accept my sincere apology and let me know.
Training:
Last week I posted that I had only 6 mile long run...my wife reminded me it was 8 miles. :) Needless to say I enjoyed going for a run that didn't take up the better part of a day. Chris and I did a short 3 mile run together which felt good. Next long run is the actual marathon (26.2 miles).



Fundraising:
In just over two months we have raised over $6,350 (with the pledged donation from a corporate sponsor). I will know in December if LAF has selected me for the Boston Marathon team. If I am not, then I will run another marathon and continue fundraising for them.