Note: I posted this on the Operation Jack Marathon website as part of a series we’re creating called “Why I’m Running” where some participants will write guest posts about why they’re participating. Here’s my why … I’m cross-posting here.

The Operation Jack Marathon is a race. Marathon, half marathon. Bib pickup, aid stations, t-shirt, great medal, volunteers, age group awards, post-race food, pre-race instructions, bag check. It’s a race. But it’s not just a race. It’s a cause and an event, a day where people come together, have a good time and fight autism one mile at a time.

Everybody who’s out there has a reason for running the race. Here’s mine:

I created the event with Operation Jack super supporter Jake Rome back in 2010. That year, I was running 61 marathons to raise money to fight autism. The premise was at least one marathon a week, all-out. Some weeks there were two and one weekend I ran three. I named the endeavor Operation Jack, after my son Jack. He turned 7 late that year and is 10 now. It eats me up inside when I think about the mind and body he’s stuck with in this world, and while I know he’s going to struggle between now and his final day, I want him to leave a mark on this world. He’s my son — what father doesn’t want that for their child?

So, I had this idea that I’d run a whole lot of marathons and raise money to fight autism. I know I wouldn’t have done it if not for him, and I knew it would have been a fruitless effort if people weren’t inspired by his struggles enough to want to join the fight. Without even knowing it, Jack would make the world a better place — that was my plan. Everything has gone well (this race and the Operation Jack Autism Foundation have combined to gross about $190,000 to date) and I think this all would be a success if we never raised another nickel.

But back to 2010 — near the end of the year, the last race of the year fell through and less than three months out, I had to create a marathon in order to complete that marathon-a-week mission I had set out on at the beginning of the year. Along with Jake, we created a race in about two months. It was intended to be a one-time thing, but the feedback we got was so overwhelmingly positive, plus quite a few of the participants asked us if we were going to be back in 2011.

The race became an annual day-after-Christmas tradition and we’re coming up on our fourth running in 2 1/2 months.

It’s a fundraiser for the foundation with my son’s name on it, for a cause I’m passionate about, in the type of event I love to participate in (I’ve run 106 marathons since 2006). That’s why I’m running it — it’s a no-brainer. But I’m running it differently than everybody else. Waaaay differently.

I’m taking a 1 a.m. early start.

In 2010, I had to be out on the course during the race. In 2011, I ran the race again and stayed at the finish area afterwards and had a ton of fun talking with finishers and handing out medals after I was done. I decided that day that I would take an early start at 2:30 a.m. so I could be done before the start and then be there to hand out medals and thank as many participants as possible. What I didn’t know when I made that plan was that I’d be relocating to Colorado.

I posted this over on the Operation Jack Marathon website and I’m cross-posting it here.

I spent Christmas with my family, built a snowman and had dinner, then drove to the airport for a quick trip down to California. I got in, got 90 minutes of shut-eye, then went and ran the course in the dark while rain poured down. I got to talk to everybody before the race and handed medals and age-group awards to quite a few of the finishers. I really enjoyed it. That’s totally the way I’m going to do it every year now. But I don’t live in Colorado any more. Autism forced me to relocate my family to the Philadelphia area this year. This is home for good now, we bought a house and anchored down.

So I’ll be doing Christmas dinner with my family out here in Pennsylvania, flying out, and landing in LA at about midnight (it’ll be 3 a.m. body time). I’ll get my car, go straight to the course and run it. I should be done, showered and changed in time to work with the first volunteers to arrive. Then, I’ll be there to see the first participants show up.

I’ll be there for every minute of the race. But like I said, it’s more than a race. It’s a cause. The way everybody comes together to run and have a good time and enjoy a great sense of community for a great cause makes it one of my favorite days of the year, especially since the event is inspired by the sweetest little boy I know. He doesn’t deserve the autism that controls his every day and I truly believe that the money raised from this race will help some child somewhere not suffer as much as him someday.

That’s why I’m running the Operation Jack Marathon.

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