I said yesterday that there was going to be a one-day offer with Operation Jack Marathon registrations today, which is the case. But I have to give a quick little bit of history about the race first. Registration is only $45 for the half marathon and $55 for the marathon right now, plus I have somebody who wants to kick in donations on behalf of everybody registering today only. Details about that are at the bottom. If you’re interested, you should read this post first.
Back in 2010, when I ran 61 marathons to raise money and awareness for Train Autism in honor of my severely autistic son Jack, I had a serious problem late in the year. My last race, scheduled for December 26, fell through. There were some issues with the person who was going to put the race on for me and in early October of that year, I realized I had to put on a marathon myself.
Never mind the fact that I was working full time, taking care of my family and still traveling to run a marathon (or even two marathons) every weekend. I now had to put on a marathon, otherwise this whole “at least one marathon a week” thing would go by the wayside. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world to run 60 in 51 weeks and none of my donors would have wanted their money back, but I just had to put a race on. When you spend a year running yourself into the ground the way I did, nothing fazes you, and the only thing you’re interested in doing is taking the hard way out. Operation Jack Marathon, bring it on.
I made a mental list of things that needed to be done. Medals. Shirts. Food. Oh, volunteers. Those would help. And it would be good to have some runners. And probably a registration website. Oh, and I know — bibs! Safety pins! Oh but wait, I have a race coming up on Saturday and I need to book airline travel for three weeks out and also find a place to sleep on Friday night. And I have a blog to write. And 20 emails to reply to. And I have to pick up my son from soccer practice after work. That marathon planning thing wasn’t going to be easy. But like everything else with that crazy year, I took a leap of faith and went after it.
Oh yeah, and there was one other issue that was definitely going to be a challenge roughly 10 weeks out. I needed to find a location and get a permit and insurance and all that kind of fun stuff. I knew it would have to be on an open course, because getting roads blocked off was just not going to happen on my budget and with my timeframe. I looked at various spots near the beach in Orange County, but they crossed into too many different municipalities and there was no way I’d be able to overcome all the red tape and secure permits in time.
I looked into a spot in a city called Cerritos, where a friend of mine had run a 100K on a course that was 5K in each direction (she ran 10 laps of that!). That spot actually dealt with the county, and I was close to securing a permit. All I needed to make the race count was to advertise it for a month, have five starters and have three finishers. I was pretty sure I could get five people out there. Heck, I filled 20 percent of the quota myself! It would have been an incredibly boring, one-time thing, but technically, it would have counted.
Just before I was about to lock down that site, though, a friend of mine, Jake Rome, begged me to consider a spot near his home in Manhattan Beach. Run it along the beach and then along some creek that was nearby, he told me. He said it would be a great event, he’d work with the local community and bring runners. Jake had been a pretty strong Operation Jack supporter all year, and really, at that point, I didn’t care. I had so many other things to worry about. So, I said sure, we’d switch.
What. A. Blessing.
I started dealing with municipalities in the area and secured the permit and insurance. We marketed the event through various websites and Twitter and Facebook. We needed about 15 participants to break even and I was confident we could do that. Jake really took charge handling a lot of the details that we couldn’t overlook to get the race done. I was buried alive with everything on my plate and needed help. He selflessly stepped up and poured himself into making the race happen. Jake, along with my good friends from Train 4 Autism, scurried around for about 6-8 weeks taking care of the details that I wanted to take care but couldn’t (I needed 28 hours in my days at that point).
I later found out (like, a couple of months after the race) that his mom was dying of cancer, and he was praying for her, and he hoped that by pouring himself all-in to something to help multiple charities, that maybe God would perform a miracle and save her. That didn’t happen and he lost his mom shortly after the race. But he had no regrets and still remains very active with me and Train 4 Autism in putting on this race every year.
Those 15 registrants we needed? Ended up being 151. NBC was down at the finish line and their report ended up being broadcast all around the world. I got emails from people as far away as Australia who saw about the race! I had a guy fly down from South Dakota to make the first Operation Jack Marathon his first-ever marathon! Another guy flew down from San Francisco and did the same thing! I think it ended up being a $20,000 day for Operation Jack, including proceeds raised by the 200+ satellite runners we had in 45 states and five countries.
It was such a success, we did it again in 2011. 380 registrants. $40,000 came in. We now have an annual tradition. The day after Christmas, runners and members of the autism community get together to participate in a fun race benefitting the Operation Jack Autism Foundation and Train 4 Autism. It’s a wonderful day. People have a great time. The medals are awesome. It’s everything that’s good about the running community and the holiday season rolled up into half a day on the beach near Los Angeles. Does it get any better than that?
It was thisclose to being a one-time thing along a bike path that would have been a money loser but would have served its purpose in giving me a venue for my final race. But thanks to Jake’s persistence, we’re going to raise money to fight autism every year through this race. I have to imagine it’s going to be $50,000+ every year going forward.
Jake is very passionate about the race, as am I, and we both struggle emotionally doing our part on the committee to get this race put on. It means a ton to both of us. I’ve told him privately that he needs to be proud of what he’s done. We can all look back and say “what if” but the reality is that if I didn’t run 61 marathons in 2010, this race wouldn’t be an annual fundraising tradition. One of my favorite bible verses is Galatians 6:9, Let us not grow weary in doing good, for we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. I did not give up. This is part of the harvest. You reap what you sow, you reap after you sow and you reap more than what you sow.
And Jake has done the same. He has worked very hard. Like I said, I’ve talked to him quite a bit privately and I’ve told him that he had a huge part in making the race what it is today and if not his persistence with selecting the location, the race wouldn’t be what it is. He did this because of his mother and he can always know that this race wouldn’t be what it is if he didn’t want to do something good because of the struggles she was going through.
So anyways, here’s where the opportunity comes in.It’s not anything super crazy spectacular, and I kind of feel bad that it’s not something like a $25 discount or getting you entered in a drawing for a free trip to Hawaii, although there’s only so much I can do with a marathon that has a $55 price point. Several of you told me you were looking forward to what I was going to announce today, and I hope this isn’t a total letdown. But if you were planning on registering for the race, you might as well do it today and here’s why: Last week, Jake asked me if it would be OK to have a day where he makes a $5 donation for every person who registers for the race on a given day, so I said sure, let’s do it on Wednesday.
So, he’s going to donate $5 to Train 4 Autism for every person who registers for the race or the satellite run today. Right now, the marathon is only $55. You’re just not going to find a better deal for a marathon than that, especially one that benefits charity and has a medal as nice as the one we give out. The half-marathon is only $45. And I think the Satellite Runs are $35. So, register today if you know you’re going to run it. It’s super cheap as it is, plus Jake is going to kick in some money if you do. The price on the marathon and half-marathon are going up $15 each in a couple of weeks. Satellite Runs won’t change in pricing, but if you’re planning on doing that, it’s because you support the cause and this will be an opportunity to have a little bit of free money go towards the cause. Also, and I just thought of this now, if you register for a Satellite Run and you want to try to get a group run together, I’ll list you on the website. The sooner you register, the more time I’ll have to help you build a group.
To register, click to operationjack.org/marathon/register. For more information about the marathon or satellite runs, click to operationjack.org/marathon. If you have any questions, leave a comment or drop me an email at sam@operationjack.org.
I sure hope to see you out there at the race if you’re in California or can make it to California. I’m taking a 2:30 a.m. early start so I can work the entire event as a volunteer. I want to personally thank each and every one of you for participating in the race that bears my son’s name and present you with your medal.
I also want to personally thank Jake for all he’s done over the years. He’s a loyal and dedicated supporter and it’s awesome to have people like him supporting me.
So, that’s all. Get on over to the registration site and get yourself in the race! See you on December 26!
sarah says
i remember sitting at lunch in philly and we were discussing the change in location and you showed pictures of the chalk line finish with you laying across it… i dont think at lunch that day that you thought you would be writing this post and getting ready for the 3rd annual OJ marathon. well done my friend.
Sam says
That Philly weekend, my flight out of LA was delayed for 7 hours, so Jake came and picked me up from the airport and took me down to the proposed site. It was pretty exciting … for the longest time, I tried to imagine when and where all the races would end and finally I knew. It was pretty cool. Those pictures I showed you were two days old.
Jeremy says
Sam, great to see you this weekend in Atlanta. I will be in LA the weekend before, but I am thinking about putting on a satellite half marathon in Atlanta on the 26th. I’m waiting to hear from my running group and I will let you know this afternoon if I can get a small group up. Regardless I will sign up as a satellite runner today.
Sam says
If you build it, they will come. I can help you get people for a race in Atlanta if you want to put it on. I’ll drop you an email offline.
Megan says
I live in Atlanta… but my parents are in LA, and of course I come home for Christmas. This race has been on my radar… I’m registering TODAY!
Sam says
For the race in Manhattan Beach? AWESOME! Looking forward to meeting you and presenting you with your medal!
Megan says
Yep! Parents are in SoCal, I’m home every Christmas, so may as well add this to my “to do” list while I’m home! Registered!
Jake says
Thanks Sam. I have tears in my eyes. I don’t know what else to say.
Sam says
Glad you like it … 🙂
Deirdre @ Oh Well Whatever says
Yeah for Jake!!! I love the connections that can be made by good people fighting for each other. So proud of what you guys have created for this race. Sadly I can’t run it, again… ; ( Hey there is always next year! And if we aren’t traveling this year which I highly doubt I will be there to volunteer!
Jason D. says
See you there! Best race of the year!
Peggy says
As always, you continue to inspire. I can’t join you in Cali, but I will support via satellite from AZ (and representing Philly :))
Heather says
I’m in for the satellite run. I am 97% sure I have to work the 26th, but if I can finagle my way out, I’ll be there to volunteer again!