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.

Less Than 2 Weeks Until Chicago!

Less than two weeks remain until the Chicago Marathon. I'm really excited and ready for the big day. I will be getting my Chicago Marathon race day shirt printed early next week so the deadline is Sunday evening to provide names for me to add. The fundraising continues to go well and as of today we've raised nearly $5,300 (including check donations in transit to LAF).

My hope is to exceed $6,000 in donations before the start gun goes off in Chicago in 12 days with the help of a new corporate sponsor. Looking forward to making an announcement early next week.

Training Update:
I completed my long run of the week Tuesday before work with 12 miles. I was in San Jose for a trade show and returned home Sunday evening. I was really tired from the trip so I had to make-up my traditional Sunday long run later in the week than usual. Next week I face an enjoyable long run before the marathon, 6 miles.


Fundraising Update:
In less than 2 months we have raised nearly $5,300 for LAF! We are 21% of the way there to accomplishing the goal of raising $25,000. With the addition of another corporate sponsor we will be that much closer.