Long time no write! I really haven’t blogged since July, more-or-less. I’ve been beyond busy and have barely had time to sleep, let alone blog. Since July, when I ran the San Francisco Marathon to raise money to fight cancer, I’ve been buried with side work beyond my full-time job, I’ve struggled to get back physically with my running (still not myself and it’s been, what, 10 weeks?), and we’ve put our house up for sale.
I’ve done something else that I really want to talk about though, something that’s also sitting nice and heavy on my plate but I’m really excited about. I’ve added another Operation Jack race! I’m putting on the Richard Leary 6-Hour Challenge on October 30 (with satellite option!) to benefit TAPS and Train 4 Autism and I figured it’s about time I start telling everybody about it! (REGISTER HERE!)
A quick bit of background on the race: I met somebody named Brandon Wood last year through Operation Jack. Actually, real quick, if you’ve never been to this site before, click here to see what Operation Jack is! So anyways, I met Brandon up in Anchorage last year and he’s a really nice guy. He’s running the Marine Corps Marathon on October 30 to raise money for TAPS (Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors), which supports the families of military members killed in the line of duty.
On September 22, 1995, Brandon’s father-in-law, Richard Leary, died in a plane crash on an Air Force training mission. TAPS did a great job helping his wife’s family and Brandon is trying to support them with fundraising efforts. I saw a blog post from him, and rather than donating $20, I figured I’d just, you know, put on an ultramarathon to raise money. I guess I like taking the tough way out?
So, it’s going to be the Richard Leary 6-Hour Challenge in Irvine, Calif. The winners of the race will be the people who run the most laps around a 1.09-mile loop around a lake in a nice park out here. Realistically, though, most folks aren’t going to run the entire time. It’s going to be a well-supported run, folks out having a good time and supporting two great causes. Brandon insisted that half of the proceeds go to Train 4 Autism, the charity I work to raise money for.
If you don’t live nearby, we’re doing a satellite option. So you don’t have to be here and it’s really affordable!
Anyways, I figured I’d come up with 10 reasons to participate. Please read to the bottom!
1. TAPS. You’re not just supporting our troops — you’re supporting the families of our troops who pay the ultimate price.
2. Train 4 Autism. This was actually at Brandon’s insistence, but it’s a great cause. We help people raise money for the autism-related charity of their choice, often small, local charities. We help the little guys, and the money raised here will help even more money get raised!
3. The medal is awesome. And I’m not just saying that — here it is:
4. You also get a t-shirt with your participation.
5. The cost is only $30! You know where you can run a race, support two great charities, get a medal like this and a t-shirt too? Yeah, that’s right … nowhere! This is the best medal you’ll ever get at a $30 race, period!
6. You only have to run THREE MILES! Yes, it’s a six-hour race. But to earn the medal, you only need to complete three laps around the course. Who can’t cover three miles in six hours?
7. You can do the run anywhere! We have a satellite option so if you want to support the cause but you’re nowhere near Irvine, Calif., you can and we’ll send you the medal and the t-shirt. There’s an extra $5 on the fee to cover shipping.
8. It’ll be your way of supporting everything I’ve tried to do to use running to make the world a better place. I’m always trying to think of ways to help, and a lot of you have been very supportive over the past couple of years. This is my attempt at this kind of race and I’m really hoping it’s a model that works. If it is, I’ll put on a couple of these a year to help out various causes. But I need your support to make sure this isn’t a one-and-done!
9. The men’s and women’s overall winners will win gift certificates from A Snail’s Pace running shop.
10. Covering three miles — heck, even running for six hours — is a lot easier than what the beneficiaries of this event have to go through.
So there, 10 reasons to participate. Can you give me one reason not to participate? I know the biggest obstacle in this economy is money, which is why I’m trying to make this an affordable value. If you can’t afford it, that’s cool, but can you like the race on Facebook and share this blog on your wall or on Twitter (there are easy-to-use share links at the bottom of this blog)?
Thanks for getting all the way down here to the bottom. I hope to see you out there on the 30th!
CLICK HERE to register now for the race or the satellite run!
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