Operation Jack

Fighting autism, one mile at a time.

Help Me Give Money Away!

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On Monday, I announced I was going to have a contest and give away $250 to a charity runner. I had several inquiries. Now it’s time for y’all to pick a winner! Just go to my Operation Jack Facebook page and vote for one of them. I’m going to close voting up on Sunday night. Most votes wins! I want to thank everybody for participating. Have a great weekend. But go vote first! And tell your friends!

By the way, just in case you’ve never been here before, take a quick look and see what Operation Jack is all about.

** Note: I didn’t realize I could only have 10 options to vote for on Facebook, so I had to turn away four folks who got their info in on time. I’ll do this again, though, and they’ll be automatically in.

Here are the nominees, with the charity they’re raising money for. [Read more…]

This Runner Inspires Me

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Over the past three years, I’ve gotten a lot of positive feedback for the way I’ve used my running to try to make the world a better place. Just in case you’ve never been here before, let me take a minute to explain, since it’s relevant to this post.

This site, Operation Jack, is also the name of my foundation, the Operation Jack Autism Foundation. I named it after my son, Jack. He’s coming up on 9 and is severely autistic — still in diapers, not really talking, spent yesterday enjoying summer with seven hours of in-home therapy. It kills me to look at him, a precious human being, and think about the lifelong struggles he’s going to have. It’s always bothered me a ton, and years ago, I decided I wanted to make some good come out of it. I wanted some good to come out of his lifetime of bad. [Read more…]

Who Wants Money?

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Happy Monday! Or, Moneyday, I guess. If you’re a charity runner, let me know if you want a $250 grant. I like raising money to give it out and I figure one of you is raising money for a cause and could use some money. I’m going to get to that in just a minute.

First, just in case you’ve never been here before, I’m a father of three an a marathon runner. My middle son, Jack, is severely autistic. I’ve named what I’m doing Operation Jack, after him, of course. It started in 2010, when I ran 61 full marathons and an extra ultramarathon to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. We’re a group of volunteer parents trying our best to help people raise money for the autism-related charity of their choice.

I also have a foundation, the Operation Jack Autism Foundation, which I use to raise money and then give it away. Most of the money I’ve netted has gone to Train 4 Autism. But I’ve also sent it in plenty of other directions. There are so many causes in this world that need help and I love being able to use my hobby (running) to try to make a difference. So, in just a minute, I’m going to explain how to get the $250 I want to give away. But first, … [Read more…]

Three Things Thursday: Free Race Entries, Free Money!

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Here we go, Three Things Thursday. I’m low on time so I won’t bother with a creative intro. I’ll just start counting to three.

1. I threw this out there on Twitter and Facebook the other day, but I’m getting going again with something called Race 4 Free. Basically, you raise $300 for Operation Jack and I’ll comp your next race entry for you (up to $150). I’ll also send you out an Operation Jack tech shirt to run the race in. So, you get to run a race for free and you’re helping a great cause (and the great causes I support) at the same time.

2. Some of you are charity runners, some of you aren’t. Those of you who are, I’m going to give out $250 to one of your causes. I’ll have full details on Monday. So make sure you come back. Or, if you’re interested, let me know now and I’ll send you a reminder when I post on Monday morning.

3. Wednesday is the best day off ever. Breaks up the week perfectly. You start with Monday, and it doesn’t even bother you to be at work, because you were off the day before. Then Tuesday, it doesn’t even bother you to be at work, because you’re off the next day. Then Wednesday, you’re off! Thursday, it doesn’t even bother you to be at work, because you were off the day before. Then Friday … do I really need to explain Friday?

When I broke my neck in high school, it was my senior year and after missing a few months of school, when I went back I was allowed to take any day off I wanted to. Basically, I could just say, “my neck hurts and I don’t want to sit upright at a desk for eight hours today,” and I didn’t need any kind of note. One of the few benefits of breaking your neck, I guess. Well, I took just about every Wednesday off. Not that I needed to, but I loved the way it broke up the week.

OK, that’s all for today.

Do you like the way a day off on Wednesday breaks up the week or would you rather have a three-day weekend?

Have a great weekend!

Three Years Down, How Many To Go?

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July 1, 2009. Three years ago Sunday. A day I’ll never forget. A day that changed my life forever.

It was a day I uploaded a small website. Operationjack.org. I announced my plans to the world that day (well, to whoever was listening) that I was going to try to run 60 marathons in 2010 to raise money for Train 4 Autism in honor of my little guy Jack. Train 4 Autism sent out an email blast, I got rolling on Twitter and started getting feedback. There was no turning back!

An idea that had started months and months prior as a brainstorming session with some of my friends and advanced to a conversation with my wife had suddenly become public. I had no clue what I was going to do. I still don’t. I was just rolling forward with faith that everything would work out. And that’s what I’m still doing. [Read more…]