Looking Forward To 2009

It’s been a long time since I last wrote in my blog, and quite frankly this is because there hasn’t been much to report.  I started the year with big intentions which didn’t pan out to much action.  I’d hoped to continue my fundraising for the Children’s Hospital Boston, but to be honest, I didn’t promote my intentions much.  For this reason, it’s not a surprise that no additional funds have been raised.

(I also tried training for the Boston Marathon, which I was going to run as a bandit, but my knee gave out at 16 miles).

Part of the difficulty is that running is a lonely sport, and fundraising a very very lonely activity for a single person.  In my last effort, I brought together a group of parents of Autistic children that I’d hoped would be motivated to help me raise funds.  But the pressures of raising an autistic child took their attention and their ability to help was limited (some donated).

Given that the hospital is doing some of the most important work in the field (and generating invaluable results), I felt like this was too important a cause to abandon.  So, I have a new idea for 2009.

I would like to put together a team of runners to take part in the 2009 Reach the Beach Relay, a 200 mile, 24 hour relay race to benefit the hospital.  Ideally, this team will be comprised of parents or relatives of Autistic children, because I’ll also ask these people to dedicate their effort to those that they love.  In addition to running the race, they’ll be asked to raise funds for the hospital by soliciting their network, and to help publicize our campaign.

The race is comprised of 36 legs, some as short as 2.9 miles, some as long as 9.3 miles, some flat, some up very steep terrain in the White mountains of New Hampshire.  It starts at the base of Cannon Mountain and travels through 30 towns and communities and ends on the coast of the state, on the beaches of Hampton.

Teams can contain up to 12 members, or as few as 4,5,or 6 “Ultra” runners.  In a team of 12 (my goal), an individual runs an average of 16.6 miles.  A portion (~ 50%) of the runners in a team must be women.  Teams also include van drivers, which follow along the course with the portion of the team that’s not running.  Because the race takes place over such a long period of time, some teams drive their runners ahead several transition stops to camp and rest.

It’s a complicated event, but it can be really rewarding.  And, with the presumed amount of money that a large team of people can raise, it can be a goal accomplished that’ll not easily be forgotten.  I’d like to put together a team of 14 (12 runners including myself and 2 stand by’s), so I’m looking for 13 others to join me.  Registration of teams starts December 1, 2008 and it usually sells out by the spring.

By the way, I’ll leave it up to the relay to team to decide whether they want to pay the entry fee themselves or to pay it from raised funds.

Please contact me as soon as possible if you’re interested in joining me in this adventure; and if you’re not, please pass the word around.