Normally, I use my blog to promote my cause and my charity, but today, I’m going to use my space to promote another charity runner who did something amazing this past weekend. Well, don’t get me wrong — I still have some things I need to promote. But I really want you to read this today to read about an incredible runner.
Just in case this is your first time here, I’m a father of three and a marathon runner. My middle child, 6 1/2-year-old Jack, is severely autistic. I decided I wanted to try to use my running to make a difference in the autism world, so this year, I’m trying to run 60 marathons to raise money and awareness for a charity called Train 4 Autism. So far, so good. 31 down, 29 to go.
Gotta Plug The Chase Contest
First things first, we’re in the running in the Chase Community Giving contest. This is an easy way for the Operation Jack Autism Foundation to earn $20,000 (which will essentially be $20,000 for Train 4 Autism). It’s a simple voting contest through Facebook. All you need to do is click here to go to the page and vote. If you’ve already voted, please go back to the page and click the link share it on your wall or through Twitter.
We’re hanging on in the top 140 or so, and we need to stay in the top 200, but we need to keep fighting to make this. So, thank you for your help!
Here’s A Runner Who Really Did Something Awesome This Weekend
I know what I’m doing with my running this year seems abnormal to most of you, but I have a running friend named Jonathan Gunderson who blows my mind with his endurance ability. He’s a four-time finisher of the Badwater Ultramarathon, a 135-mile race in the middle of July in Death Valley, Calif. The race starts at 282 feet below sea level and climbs up to Mt. Whitney. Temps climb well over 120 degrees! It’s the toughest footrace in America, no question. Anyways, like I said, he’s finished it four times (I think it’s four), including 11th overall last year.
This weekend, he ran in the Western States 100, one of the toughest trail races in the country and arguably the most prestigious. The goal everybody chases there is a sub-24 hour finish. If you do that, you earn the coveted Western States 100 belt buckle. Jonathan set his sights well beyond that, though. He put everything he had into training for this race and was ready to push for a sub-19 and maybe even a top 10. His training went well, his tune-up races (50- and 100-milers) went well and he was ready to go.
However, he suffered a severely sprained ankle just 10 miles into the race on Saturday. He also battled nausea for the majority of the race. He couldn’t get into the top 10 on the sprained ankle, but he was still able to finish in 23:47 and earn the belt buckle. Just to repeat, he ran 90 MILES ON TRAILS on a severely sprained ankle and still finished Western States in less than 24 hours! If that’s not tough, I don’t know what is!
Normally, I promote my own cause on my blog, but today I really want to promote his. He’s a charity runner who raises money to build wells in Uganda and he has amazing character. Please, please, please, take a look at his site today.
Brief Seattle Recap
OK, so we’re closer to this coming Friday than last Friday, but what the heck … I have pictures to post, so I’ll be real brief. I met up with some runner friends of mine I’ve known for a few years, Emil and Ryan. If you guys think I’m nuts, I’d like you to know that Ryan ran a 100-miler two weeks ago. That’s nuts. I’m just a little on the unusual side.
From there, I got to meet Operation Jack supporter Melissa Gillespie. I’ve talked with her for the better part of the past year and it was great to finally meet her. I got to try out my bad sense of humor on her, too. She had to drive something like 76 miles with her kids to visit me. We were texting back and forth a little bit and at one point, she was stuck in traffic and she texted me to tell me she was in Tacoma. So I texted her a simple question:
Tacoma? Isn’t that in Washington?
Oh, I make myself laugh. But nobody else. I immediately followed up and let her off the hook. She made it up and I hung out with her and her kids for a few hours. Later on, I met up with somebody named Lindsey Judd (and her husband Patrick) who I’ve talked to a fair amount through Operation Jack but never met. Well, I guess I have now. I’m a ding-dong and I totally forgot to take a picture, though. We had dinner and I had a reuben sandwich. I took advantage of being away from Tiff and picked up some sauerkraut breath. I love that stuff, but she hates the way it smells. Yay for toothpaste!
My motel was terrible. I’ve stayed in some dives this year, but I think this one takes the cake. It smelled like there 20 ashtrays in there, there were stains on the tub, I was scared to take my socks off, the people in the room above me had a party all night and I’m sure somebody was making meth in one of the rooms. I think it cost something like $30 or $40 to add it on to my flight on Travelocity. I survived, so I guess that’s all that matters.
This one turned out kind of funky because Ryan was standing closer to me than Emil. Oh well.
Me, Melissa and her son Callum. Well, if you’re going right-to-left.
I think the “weekly rates” sign was the first indicator it wasn’t a five-star joint.
I Conducted An Experiment For You!
Have you ever thought about running a marathon, spending 30 minutes decompressing afterwards, then taking a 30 minute subway ride followed by running 3 miles up and down rolling hills while carrying your gear check bag so you can get to your motel in time to shower and get to the airport? Yeah, I did that on Saturday. In case you were thinking about doing something similar, I can safely say I don’t recommend that three mile run at the end.
Is There A Cure For The Summertime Blues?
I don’t normally get “summertime blues,” but I can sense them coming on this year. I’m grinding through this year, everything slows down in the summer when school is out, I have a bunch of warm marathons coming up, my body is starting to feel the wear and tear of it all, plus I still have a long ways to go.
I don’t know … maybe it’s because I haven’t been to In-N-Out for 17 days.
OK, That’s All I Have Today
Not the most fascinating blog ever. But they can’t all be the most fascinating blog ever, right? See you back here tomorrow!
Chris Stores says
Hey, weekly rates are better than advertising hourly rates ;).
Ally Phillips says
Not having In-N-Out for 17 days is totally the culprit of the summertime blues.
Also, people that run Badwater? Are crazy. Peole that finish Western States i under 24 hours? Crazy too. And the people who run Comrades? They’re crazy too. (although I secretly hope that one day I could run Comrades, but I have no hopes that I would finish within the cuttoff time)
But! All the crazy aside, they are very inspirational. Love what your friend is doing for clean water and wells is Uganda.
Katie Abdolhosseini says
I haven’t been getting yoru blog updates in my mailbox! I’ve been missing out!!!
Nice job on the race, making it home to celebrate your cute kiddo, beating that cute kiddo in Monopoly and actually surviving that dumpy motel! You’re doing awesome!