Monthly Archives: January 2016

Fundraising

Final update: $59,506 raised!

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It’s over! As promised, fifty-two races were run, and more than $52,000 was raised for the GBS/CIDP Foundation. In the end, we beat our goal by over $7,000.

Final stats: 100% of the way to our running goal, and 114% of the way to our fundraising goal!

That's it! Done running for the year, and feeling pretty good about it...
That’s it! Done running for the year, and feeling pretty good about it…

A word or two of thanks to you

I thank you for being along for the journey — whether you donated first, last, once, three times, a lot, or a little, you were an important part of doing something good. It really is the thought that counts.

I started this adventure with trepidation: how would people react when I shared the story that I had GBS and, being practical, could I possibly raise that much money in a year? When I look back, it’s you who I remember most about this fundraiser — you told me stories of why you contributed and you supported me along the 52-week journey. It’s very humbling to know you all. I hope I can support a cause that’s close to your heart some day soon.

The Last Two Races

Last time I updated you, I shared the story of running in a polyester Santa Suit in Sydney’s summer. Ridiculous. Since then, we ran races 51 and 52. Race 52 was our one and only half-marathon this year: we thought we’d go out with a bang (figuratively, was hoping not to do a hamstring). In the end, while we were a little stiff and sore, race 52 was one of the highlights: here’s the race report.

What’s Next?

I’m looking forward to working closely with the Foundation to help them spend your donations, and to continuing my relationship with them in 2016. I know that what they do matters — people need support when they get these conditions, more research is needed, and advocacy is necessary to make sure there’s support for everyone. I’ll send out one more post in the future, just to let you know what happened next. (By the way, if you’d like updates on their work, Like their Facebook page.)

What are we going to do with our weekends? Well, I suspect we won’t run anywhere near 52 races in 2016. But I do suspect we’ll run more than a handful — maybe we’ll see you out on the trails?

 

races

Race #52: Brazen Almost New Year’s Half Marathon

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We said we’d finish the running with a bang, and we picked quite the race! A half-marathon that had a bonus 0.3 miles (so, a total of 13.4 miles or 21.6 kilometers), and around 2,000 ft (or 610 meters) of climbing.

That's it! Done running for the year, and feeling pretty good about it...
That’s it! Done running for the year, and feeling pretty good about it…

The race was at the Lake Chabot Regional Park, and was a counter-clockwise loop of the lake with a long detour through some of the most beautiful woods in Bay Area. It’s such a gorgeous run that the first few climbs — maybe even including the 600 feet in the third mile — didn’t hurt. I can’t quite say the same for the undulating terrain after the 10-mile mark: by then, my thighs were telling me they’d had enough climbing for one day!

Why does she always beat me? Crossing the line after a tough 13.4 miles
Why does she always beat me? Crossing the line after a tough 13.4 miles

Come to think of it, maybe the first few miles didn’t hurt because it was *freezing*. It was near on freezing when we started, and the grass was crispy with a frost. My fingers were so cold in my thin running gloves that they hurt, and I didn’t feel my feet for at least five miles. Even crossing the finish line I was still layered-up with three layers of running gear on top. Still, these freezing days are some of the most beautiful — there was barely a cloud in the sky and barely a puff of wind. Gorgeous!

While I’m whining, I should note that we should have trained harder for a half-marathon. It’s a decent step up from our diet of 10k races over the past few months, and came on the back of a quieter couple of weeks. Still, we made it, and 2 hours and 23 minutes isn’t too bad for a 13.4 miler with 2,000 feet of climbing! But, wow, was I stiff and sore for the next three days — if you saw some old guy hobling around, it may have been me.

All in all, an amazing way to finish a pretty special year of raising money for the GBS/CIDP Foundation, and getting the message out about GBS and related conditions. I’ve no idea what we’ll do in 2016 without all this fundraising and running — I’m sure we’ll think of something…