Operation Jack is Sam Felsenfeld's attempt to run 60 marathons in 2010 to raise funds and awareness for Train 4 Autism. He chronicles his journey through his blog.http://www.operationjack.com/blogI don't normally get into politics here, because that's a really stupid thing to do while representing a charity. But I do have one semi-related thing that I will get into today. I love America. I love this country, and I don't care if there are better countries out there or if people don't like this country. Like my family, this is what I was born into, and I'm proud to be a part of it, and it will always be my favorite. Yeah, this is a September 11 thing.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=233Thu, 09 Sep 2010 07:47:42 -0700Wow, what a blur of a weekend. A travel day, a marathon, an ultramarathon, a family day and now it's time for football. I'm just glad I went to In-N-Out yesterday. And I'm really happy about something Jack did on Friday! Keep reading to see what I'm talking about. And to see a sweet video of how my legs twitch after running 45 miles! http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=232Tue, 07 Sep 2010 07:51:07 -0700I always try to write my race reports as quickly as possible. Do them, don't look back and move on. But also, the closer to the race I write it, the more accurately I can remember the details and the emotions. I'm writing this from an airplane fewer than three hours after I finished the Operation Jack 7-Hour Challenge in Portland Sunday, so maybe I'm being dramatic when I say this might have been the best experience I've had this year, but it was absolutely awesome.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=231Sun, 05 Sep 2010 19:04:27 -0700Saturday's Pocatello Marathon was a big disappointment due to my individual performance, and while I know my approach should focus on the cause and not myself, sometimes it's nearly impossible not to dwell on a lousy race.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=230Sat, 04 Sep 2010 15:01:25 -0700OK, here we go. Weekend preview time and while I've already run 40 marathons since January 1, this is definitely going to be my toughest one so far this year. I have a variation of my contest for this week, but it's still an opportunity for you to get some Operation Jack gear.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=229Thu, 02 Sep 2010 07:35:07 -0700Well here we are, September. Another month is in the books and I'm another month closer to the end of the year! But you know what I'm looking forward to even more than 2011? October.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=228Wed, 01 Sep 2010 07:52:38 -0700Happy Tuesday everybody! I have a couple of quick things to go over, including an update on my grandma and some cool things about Jack's progress.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=227Tue, 31 Aug 2010 08:12:39 -0700Well here we go, another Monday. I have a few things I want to share with you. I guess this is somewhat of a cross between one of my weekend recaps, a 10 random things blog and a "What's up with Operation Jack" posting. I guess it's 6 random things from the weekend that are up with Operation Jack. Or something like that.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=226Mon, 30 Aug 2010 08:06:50 -0700Sunday's Santa Rosa Marathon was almost more about the Pocatello Marathon for me than it was about Santa Rosa. I needed to get on track mentally for Pocatello, and that's exactly what I did. I could have been faster that I was today, but I couldn't be happier than how I am right now.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=225Sun, 29 Aug 2010 20:54:14 -0700I don't even know where to start this blog. I'm in such a haze writing it. Yesterday was a day that ended up OK, but I'll never forget it. To put it simply, I almost lost my grandma.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=224Thu, 26 Aug 2010 06:12:09 -0700I'm going quick with the blog today. They don't always have to be super-long, right? I have a quick update on Jack and a couple of announcements I wanted to repeat. You'll be back to work in three minutes flat!http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=223Tue, 24 Aug 2010 07:55:59 -0700Normally on Mondays I write a weekend recap, but my trip was so quick and easy this weekend and I have a bunch of announcements I want to throw out there today. So, I'm going to abandon my typical format and throw a bunch of information your way. At least I have a really cool video of Jack in here!http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=222Mon, 23 Aug 2010 01:06:46 -0700I'm always up for a good challenge, so lucky me, I got to run the Park City (Utah) Marathon Saturday. The course starts at 6,450 feet above sea level, spends 16 miles climbing to 7,250, then drops back down to 6,450. It's a difficult run, to say the least. The altitude is a significant problem, and the hills are extremely tough. I headed in hoping to break 3:40 with a solid run.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=221Sat, 21 Aug 2010 18:34:10 -0700Well, here we are again. It's Thursday, time to start getting ready for the weekend and thinking about my race. I've got my weekly contest, a few deep thoughts, a lemonade stand and a photo shoot. You know, typical random stuff.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=220Thu, 19 Aug 2010 08:21:57 -0700Normally, I'm pretty formulaic with my blogs, which makes it easier for me to tell you about the most important things involving Operation Jack. But sometimes I think back to when I put this blog on here, and the purpose I had in my mind was to give you the opportunity to know what it's like to be me and go through this whole "61 marathons while maintaining some kind of life" thing. So today, I'm just going to run down some random thoughts, pretty much like I'm writing in my journal at the end of the day. I'll just talk about yesterday.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=219Wed, 18 Aug 2010 08:11:26 -0700Wow, what a blur the past few days have been. I was planning on writing a blog for yesterday, but that didn't happen. I went to Alaska over the weekend and took a redeye flight back Sunday night and the next thing I know, I'm in the office on Monday morning. So, I guess here goes, a weekend recap and some announcements I need to make.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=218Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:15:24 -0700I'm not going to spend a whole of time talking about my running in Humpy's Marathon in Anchorage, Alaska, Sunday. I think that would miss the point of it all. But I will write a quick recap and then talk about why I think this one is a must-run.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=217Sun, 15 Aug 2010 22:16:52 -0700Well, it's already Thursday, so it's time for another weekend preview, another announcement and another contest. http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=216Thu, 12 Aug 2010 07:52:00 -0700Since it's the middle of the summer and it's hot everywhere, I figured I needed something cool for my blog today. So, I have details about a cool fundraiser we're doing in October, a cool story about Jack from Tiff and a cool video of Jack from last week.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=215Wed, 11 Aug 2010 07:32:46 -0700Wow, I just had the best weekend I've had so far in 2010. I had fun from start to finish and I have photos and video to prove it! Is this how the other half lives? It makes me really look forward to 2011!http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=214Mon, 09 Aug 2010 08:07:09 -0700There's not a lot to analyze from my run in the Train 4 Autism Marathon Series, Race #2 from Saturday, because very early into the race, I picked a simple strategy and stuck to it. I aimed to have fun, and that's exactly what I did.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=213Sat, 07 Aug 2010 12:48:15 -0700It's Thursday, which means it's time for a weekend preview. I'm going with a different format than I typically do, because I'm not having a contest and I have a few random things I want to talk about. I hope you guys are OK with the way I wrote this.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=212Thu, 05 Aug 2010 08:09:48 -0700Today I have a guest post from Operation Jack supporter Roy Naim. Roy asked a few weeks ago if he could submit a guest blog and I have no problem with that. So, today I'm running what he wrote.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=211Wed, 04 Aug 2010 08:01:39 -0700I need to remember to use my camera more. When I do that, I can write my blog with more pictures and fewer words. There's going to be some words in this weekend recap. But I have 13 pictures, too. I like pictures — they're easy to read!http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=210Tue, 03 Aug 2010 07:04:38 -0700I struggled with a rough race on Saturday, but I got a nice attitude adjustment yesterday when I desperately needed it. Normally on Mondays, I write a weekend recap filled with bad jokes. But today, I want to address some things I put in my race recap from this weekend. There were some things I want to cover from this weekend, so I'll definitely write about that tomorrow.http://www.operationjack.com/blog/index.php?bi=209Mon, 02 Aug 2010 07:34:50 -0700