November vote for you :)

2 weeks ago I was convinced that we would not make our goal of $5000 for our 4 marathons. In the past 2 weeks, we have received nearly 30 donations totalling nearly $1600, putting us $4 OVER our goal. ELEVEN of those donations were just in the past 24 hours! My inbox has gone CRAZY with "you have a donation" emails!! I am truly humbled by the outpouring of support from our friends and family and even complete strangers! Thank you just doesn't seem like enough, but it is all I have...simple, heartfelt...we humbly THANK YOU!

With love and appreciation,
Janna and Dan

Hello friends and family,
We have enjoyed our longest "rest" period between marathons this summer and are now just 24 days away from our final CF marathon! We started this crazy journey a year ago and could have never dreamed where it has taken us! We have run 3 of our 4 marathons and countless training miles in the last year! Just in 2012 we have logged well over 1,000 miles combined! We've battled fatigue, injury and exhaustion and each time we think it is fruitless, we are reminded WHY we took this on. We remember, it is not about achieving a great time or achieving a personal goal...it is about raising awareness and money for this important cause!!! Your support and donations have been so very much appreciated!
This summer, Dan completed a run streak challenge, running at least 1 mile EVERY DAY from memorial day to July 4th. He was so dedicated! The streak definitely increased his speed and stamina! I spent May and June swimming, trying to rest and recuperate my injured hip. training has been hit and miss, trying to balance training mileage and pace without reinjuring myself by doing too much too soon. So far, I'm holding up and I think I should be ok so long as I stick to my plan and don't run too much or too fast in the beginning.
With 24 days left, we are about to peak our training mileage and start to taper down for the race. Training in the summer is always difficult, but with the horribly hot and humid August we had, it made it even worse. It's even hot at 5am!! We are hoping for a break in the weather on October 7th! A cool foggy Long Beach morning would make for a perfect end to this journey!
So, one year and hundreds of miles later, we have raised $3500 for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Our goal of $5000 is in sight, just like the finish line! Many of you have donated money for each of our marathons and others have donated large amounts at one time. Regardless of how you donated, we want to say THANK YOU for helping us get here!
Thank you for the amazing support and encouragement over the last year. We truly cannot express the depth of our gratitude!

God Bless,
Janna and Dan

July vote for you! :)

Marathon #3 of 4 is on the books and what a day it was!!! Beth's mom, Candi was our "pit crew" for this race and we cannot thank her enough for being there! it's a long day, for certain!!! Dan finished the Full 26.2 miles in a Personal Record time of 4 hours and 45 minutes. He averaged a 10.5 minute mile pace throughout the whole race! I was able to complete the half marathon and was happy to be able to do that!

About a month ago, I developed pain in my hip while running that stubbornly would not go away with rest! After a trip to the doctor and a few Physical Therapy session, it was pretty clear I would NOT be running the OC marathon. Disappointing does not come close to describing this setback. However, I was given the doctor's blessing to walk/jog the HALF marathon at OC. He warned that it would definitely HURT but I wouldn't do any real damage! YES! Something is always better than nothing! So, walk I did! I attempted to jog/shuffle a few times, but my body made it VERY clear that I would not finish if I didn't slow down and take it easy! What a humbling morning. As my body forced me to comply and would not allow me to do what I wanted, I realized that CF patients deal with this kind of disappointment EVERY DAY! What an appropriate lesson I learned that morning. It brought all of this fundraising and marathon madness into perspective! I'm on the mend now and hoping to be back training for Marathon #4 by June1!

To date, our marathon fundraising stands at $3,400! We thank you all for your support and encouragement on this endeavor!!! We appreciate you sharing our story and sharing your hard earned dollars with this cause that means so much to us!!

We are truly humbled by the show of support and words of praise you have showered upon our family as we continue on this journey. Thank you. God has laid this path before us and we always remember "do nothing from selfish ambition but in humility count others more significant than yourselves" Phil 2:3

We wish you a wonderful Mother's Day!
In gratutude,
Janna and Dan Crowther

Need a Mother’s Day gift? Imagine Scholar to the rescue!

$13 donation to our water project = an original Mother’s Day handwritten poem by an Imagine Scholar student (to be scanned and emailed to your mother).

Or if you’re feeling funky…

$87 donation to our water project = the aforementioned poem and a PERSONALIZED Mother’s Day rap video performance by the one and only Siyanda (another Imagine Scholar student)

If I were you, I get my mom the personalized rap video :)
Megan + the Imagine Scholar team

Well, it's that time...only one day to go before the big run and I'm very excited! I will be wearing my Ark Animal Rescue tank top during the run in support of this fantastic group! I just wanted to send one more very special THANK YOU for helping me raise money for a cause that is so incredibly important to me. We have raised over $1,600 to help homeless animals get a second chance at a loving home and that is WAY beyond what I ever thought possible. This couldn't have happened without my fantastic friends, family and even a few complete strangers! I'm just beyond grateful! So, thank you again from the very bottom of my heart...I appreciate you more than you know!!

Janna! Thank you so much for your donation!! Who is your good friend that volunteers with the Ark? It is really a great group of people there...I just love them! Are you talking about adopting the pregnant Golden from Devore that was pulled on Tuesday? If so, I was there when she got pulled (we were pulling a different mama and baby that were out of time). Either way, thank you so much for adopting!! We can't do it without people like you! Thank you again for your donation and maybe I will see you at OC!!

No problem! Congrats on already raising so much for your marathon!!! Good luck.

A January Vote sent your way... May the coming year be the most awesome year.
A return vote would make you the most awesome person ever!
please join or donate if you may and encourage others as well.
Defeat World Hunger: http://www.crowdrise.com/defeatworldhunger