I'm Not Running 60 Marathons This Year

You want your week to go by quickly? Miss a flight on Sunday and take a flight on Friday. Then, you’ll only have three days to get you work done. Throw in a few days of Mr. Mom and a $20,000 contest win for your charity and you have a complete blur. But here we are, Thursday. It’s time for a weekend preview blog, plus an announcement.

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 wanted to use my ability to recover well from marathons to try to make a difference in the autism world. I was planning on running 60 marathons to raise money and awareness for a charity I’m a part of called Train 4 Autism. Train 4 Autism helps people raise money for the autism-related charity of their choice. I think it’s a great organization, which is why I’m excited to work towards helping it grow.

So far, I’ve run 33 marathons, brought a fair amount of people into the organization, and I’ve raised about $50,000 (including a $20,000 we just won in the Chase Community Giving contest.

Anyways, I said I was planning on running 60 marathons. Well, that plan changed. So now I’ll explain that.

I’m Not Running 60 Marathons In 2010
I’m going to make it 61. A couple of months ago, I got a request from an Operation Jack supporter in Alabama named Lance Haney to run the St. Jude Memphis Marathon with him. I told him I would if we could raise an additional $3,000. I hoped the possibility of adding a race would help raise money for Operation Jack. Then I started looking into the race and it really became something I wanted to do.

It’s a benefit for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which is a leader in children’s cancer research. I hate autism, but I have no love for children’s cancer, either. I’ve heard that the race is put on really well and I think we’ll see patients when we’re there. How could anybody with a heart not want to be a part of that race?

Well, when we locked up that $20,000, I decided I’d officially add this one to the schedule. I’m already registered for Las Vegas the following day, so it’ll be an extra race — 61 now.

San Francisco Marathon Runners?
If you’re going to be in San Francisco, there’s going to be a dinner the night before. Not a fundraiser, just a get-together for a bunch of runners. It’s going to be at Gordon Biersch at 5:30 and we’ll all just order off the menu. A good chunk of the people there will be from a group of runners I’m a part of, but it was the same kind of makeup at my dinner in February and everybody seemed to mix pretty well.

I have information here. If you’d like to go, just e-mail me by July 22 because I need to call in a head count.

Weekly Contest
I have a contest every week where you guys guess my time in the form of a small donation. If you think I’m going to run a 3:15, you donate $3.15. Whoever guesses the closest without underbidding wins. Last week, I didn’t have the contest. Two weeks ago, the winner was Dina Williams, who plays every week and has won a couple of times now.

A lot of you still need us to ship you shirts. They’re coming … we’re just incredibly overloaded and not doing a good job shipping them out. Believe me, it bothers me a whole lot more than it bothers you and they’re coming. They really, really are. 🙁

Weekend Preview
I’m going to Okojobi, Iowa. A big part of that is that there’s not a lot on the schedule. Welcome to the lean, hot summer months. High of 91 on Saturday, low of 68. Possible isolated thunderstorms. Good thing the race starts at 6. Wait, that’s 4 a.m. body time. Oh well.

I have no idea of the elevation profile o the course, but it’s around a lake and it looks like it starts and finishes at the same spot. So, I’ll get any uphills back, and I can’t imagine it’ll be too hilly in Iowa. But I’m thinking the heat and humidity are going to make it a long day. I bet I won’t get to stop running until 3:22 after I start. We’ll see. So go ahead, make your guesses. What’s $3 and some change to a great cause? I know we just won $20,000, but let’s not quit now! To make your bet, just click here or click on the Donate Now! link at the top of any page on this site.

OK, That’s All For Today
Have a great weekend everybody! I’ll post a race report at some point Saturday.