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!

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?

We’ve now raised nearly $46,000 for the GBS/CIDP Foundation. That’s pretty amazing, and I owe a ton of thanks to all of you who’ve contributed. There’s still 18 days to go, and I’m still just over $6,000 short — but I’ve got a good feeling we’ll make it!

Weekly stats: 88% of the way to our fundraising goal, and 96% of the way to our running goal!

What’s been happening?

There’s been a flood of donations from amazing people in the past couple of weeks! Please join me in thanking Lisa Wong, who donated a huge $250. Thanks Lisa! Please also thank Jock Cheese (I knew it was you, James McGinty), Naren Chittar, Rodney O’Donnell and Vipul Dalal for donating $100 each. A bunch of good men! And thank Dennis Fetterly for his kind donation of $50. Add to that generous anonymous donations of $250, $150, $100, and $50! Thank you to all of you — I know who you are, and I appreciate it a ton!

Lots of running too. Perhaps the most amusing race this year was a race around Sydney past the Opera House and under the Harbour Bridge, dressed as Santa Claus. It was hot, humid, and the cheap polyester santa suit wasn’t pleasant going. But, 2,000 Santas for a good cause was pretty amusing. Anyway, 50 races are done, and there’s now just 2 to go!

We’ve raised $44,454 for the GBS/CIDP Foundation! There’s five weeks to go in the year — and still around $7,500 to go to hit our goal of $52,000. It’s time for me to start shaking virtual tins in the street…

Stats: 85% of the way to our fundraising goal, and 90% of the way to our running goal.

So, what’s been happening?

It’s been a great month. Our generous friends Gretchen DiNapoli and Gene Cook both donated $250 for a *third time*. I am so grateful to both of these amazing people! Wow. My friend and eBay colleague Imran Khan donated $100 — another act of incredible generosity! And, last of all and certainly not least, an anonymous donor sent in $500 — I know who he is, and I’m thankful for his kindness as always. All in all, a huge leap forward in our fundraising over the past couple of weeks…

I love the photo above of Selina running through the woods in the recent Whiskey Hill 10k. We’ve certainly been running a ton to get our promise of running 52 races this year on track, and today we are exactly that — five weeks to go, and five races to run. If you head over to the left menu here at http://fiftytwofives.com you’ll find race reports from our recent adventures.