Donations From Around the World

Donations have come in from all corners of the world – Hong Kong to Oxford, Ohio.

I have received emails from individuals sharing their personal stories of cancer that are truly inspirational and touching. For everyone who has supplied a name(s) to me (for my shirt or with their donation), I truly think about them as I train and fundraise.

Needless to say there are many of you who are in my thoughts and prayers….you truly represent the definition of living strong.

Training Update:

I completed my long run of the week last night with 16 miles. Someone in my office asked how it went…the best way to sum it up is when I got home my wife (Chris) asked if I was OK. :)

Going forward I’m going to do my long runs on the weekends. (next week I decrease my long run mileage – 12 miles).

Fundraising Update:

After only 3 weeks we’ve raised over $2,300 for LAF! By this time next week my hope is to close in on the $3,000 mark.

There are more than 10.5 million cancer survivors living in the United States today. (Source: American Cancer Society)

Oxford Press Article & Ad

I want to thank the Oxford Press for writing a story about my fundraising efforts. They have always stayed true to their small town community perspective.

As well, I want to thank one of my past colleagues (and good friend) who helped me put together the ad I placed in the Oxford Press. He went out of his way to develop 4 options to select from and treated me like a paying client.

I hope everyone has a great weekend.

15 Mile Tour of Boston

The long runs are getting longer and longer and much tougher. Last night I ran 15 miles and along the way took a nice nighttime tour of Boston. My muscles are barking at me this morning and will need to start stretching a few times a day now to avoid injury.

As tough as the run was I enjoyed running along the Charles River that weaves throughout the city. It truly is a beautiful city with so much going on. Even at 10 PM there were so many people out and about enjoying the beautiful weather with a nearly full moon.

Beyond completing the long run, the high point of the evening was having my wife back home again (she’s been traveling on business).

Training Update:
I completed my long run of the week last night with 15 miles and a few blisters (next week 16 miles).

Fundraising Update:
The fundraising continues to go great. With the article in Friday’s Oxford Press combined with the ¼ page ad I purchased, I’m hopeful to cross the $2,000 mark by early next week.

The overall cost for cancer last year was $206 billion, which includes $78 billion for medical bills, $18 billion for lost productivity from the illness, and $110 billion due to lost productivity from premature death. (Source: American Cancer Society)

Support From My Hometown Paper

I'm excited about an upcoming article in my hometown newspaper; The Oxford Press. I couldn't ask for a better lead-in to Friday's (8/22) article (image is above).

For those of you who didn't know, I was born and raised in a small town in Southwestern Ohio. There's something very special about my hometown and always looking forward to my next trip home.

Two Months Until the Chicago Marathon

It’s official, less than two months until the Chicago Marathon (October 12^th)! It’s hard to believe how fast this summer has flown by.

This weekend my wife and I are heading to Cleveland to visit one of my best friends. He’s a huge inspiration to me for this fundraising effort (battled an aggressive form of colon cancer and has been cancer free now for over 6 years). It will be exciting to catch up with him.

Training Update:
I completed my long run of the week Wednesday night with 10 miles (next week 15 miles). Despite some tight muscles I’m feeling really good.

Fundraising Update:
The fundraising is going great and can not say thank you enough for everyone’s support. With pledged donations we are well on our way to the $2,000 mark! I purchased a ¼ page ad in my hometown newspaper for next week, so we’ll see what happens.

Nearly 1 in 2 men and 1 in 3 women will develop cancer during their lifetime
Source: American Cancer Society

Great Start & My First Corporate Sponsor

Thank you to everyone for your kind words and donations so far. There are a number of you who have verbally committed to a donation amount which brings my total well above the $1,000 mark.
In addition to individual donations, I received my first corporate sponsorship from Melitta USA today (http://www.melitta.com/). I used to work closely with them in the past. They are a great group of people that I sincerely miss working with. I truly appreciate their generous donation and continued support. Happy 100 Year Anniversary!

Fundraising Campaign Begins Today

Welcome to my blog where you can track my fundraising and training progress. The fundraising campaign kicks off today (with an email campaign at my office) and I’m truly excited about what lies ahead. The goal is to raise $25,000 or more between two marathons (Chicago Marathon and Boston Marathon) for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

While fundraising has just begun, my training program has reached the halfway mark for the Chicago Marathon. Last night I completed my long run of the week (13.1 miles). To put things in perspective, 13.1 miles is just a half marathon and took me a little under 2 hours to run.


Cancer Fact of the Week: 560,000 Americans are expected to die from cancer this year, or more than 1,500 per day.

To Make A Donation: http://www.livestrong.org/grassroots2008/scottvogel