It’s been 2 weeks since I ran home from Vermont on my Ultra Challenge and I wanted to first convey my sincerest thanks to you all for your incredible support of me both before and during my trek… and I thought you might like an update as well. I’ve added a bunch more people on my distribution list to include those who have shown interest in my trek, those who requested me to honor people on my shirt, and those who are actually honored on my shirt.
I have to say that last year I was extremely intimidated by my race to the summit of
The next seven days was an experience like I have never had before in my life and I’ll share it with you in detail when I get my journal transcribed into my blog very soon. My experience took me from the boundaries of self-doubt to strong confidence; from desperation to euphoria; from pain and suffering to… well… pain and suffering; and from loneliness to warm new friendships.
But this trek wasn't really about some crazy old guy running 153 miles over many mountains on dirt, rock, and mud trails through seven days in all kinds of weather. This was about raising awareness and funds for two causes very close to me while honoring some very special individuals in both my life and yours. By the time I disburse the money I raised, the total should break the $2,000 mark with about half going to the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the other half to Habitat for Humanity split between the Boy Scouts’ Scouts Can program and also MCC’s Sound Coalition. Just as I did last year, the names of those who donated will be provided to my beneficiaries as the donors so that you receive the tax benefits for having contributed to each of these worthy 501(c)(3) organizations.
Despite the fantastic experiences I have had the last 2 years, I won’t be doing a personal challenge next summer. With my son Derek heading off to college, Jan and I are probably going to have much more on our plate and I won’t have the time to train for something major. I believe that I will save up my energy and enter the Trans Rockies Run in 2011… it’s a 113-mile race involving 200 2-person teams trail running across the Rocky Mountains in Colorado over 6 days and includes over 25,000 feet of elevation gain... Nice! I need a team mate so if anyone, man or woman, thinks that spending 6 days running across the Rocky Mountain wilderness would be a cool challenge, you could be perfect for my R4OPL team! You can learn more about the race at http://transrockies.com/transrockiesrun/news/ and I really am serious about looking for a teammate!
I have posted many pictures from my 7 days on the trail and I invite you all to check them out. They are located on my R4OPL Facebook Fan Page for easy access by all. Follow the link below:
That same Fan Page will also contain my daily journal from the trek soon but you can also find it on http://r4opl.blogspot.com when I am done posting it.
My days on the trail were filled with amazing experiences not the least of which was signing onto Facebook and Twitter each day to make my dedication and seeing all of the fantastic encouragement coming from friends everywhere. I can’t express how energized I was seeing the growing number of people following my progress, and I have to assume, people tuning in to see whom I was running for each day.
In case you missed a day, I’ve listed my dedications below:
Day 1 – Dedicated to the Kimball family
Day 2 – Dedicated to Nick Glasgow
Day 3 – In memory of Serv Gonsalves
Day 4 – In memory of Mikey Czech, Therese Carroll, Billie Haines, “Grumpy” Strolin
Day 5 – Dedicated to Avi Ben Stella and Lisa O’Malley
Day 6 – Dedicated to Pat Ecklund; In memory of Darryl Redfern and Marie Budrow
Day 7 – Dedicated to my awesome family and support group (Jan, Derek, Erica, Mom, Dad, Karen and Auntie Ruth)
Thank you again for your friendship, your concern, and your support. Being able to share my experiences with you is as rewarding as the experience itself!
I am… Running for Other People’s Lives!
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