I'm training hard and fundraising even harder - since this is my first 1/2 marathon, what better way to gain motivation than by running for a truly amazing and very personal cause. I've set a very ambitious fundraising goal and hope you will find it in your hearts to help me meet that goal.

"Mental illnesses are medical conditions that disrupt a person's thinking, feeling, mood, ability to relate to others and daily functioning. Just as diabetes is a disorder of the pancreas, mental illnesses are medical conditions that often result in a diminished capacity for coping with the ordinary demands of life.

Serious mental illnesses include major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and borderline personality disorder. The good news about mental illness is that recovery is possible."

Society as a whole has a very limited understanding and compassion for those dealing with this sort of illness. There's a lot of negative stigma surrounding these illnesses for example - if someone is bipolar or schizophrenic they are considered "CRAZY" in the eyes of the general public. Many types of mental illnesses are often joked about or worse, dismissed and not taken seriously as a true medical condition.

The charity I've chosen to run for helps dispel these myths, provides support to those who may look fine on the outside but are truly suffering inside, and helps family members of those who struggle with these types of "silent illnesses" learn coping methods and various other useful insights into the internal world their loved one lives in.

I hope you will find it in your hearts to help me raise money for this phenomenal organization and - if nothing else, I hope you will learn to not take people at face value for they could be fighting an internal battle that others will never even begin to understand.

NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, is the nation’s largest grassroots mental health organization dedicated to building better lives for the millions of Americans affected by mental illness. NAMI advocates for access to services, treatment, supports and research and is steadfast in its commitment to raising awareness and building a community of hope for all of those in need.

From its inception in 1979, NAMI has been dedicated to improving the lives of individuals and families affected by mental illness. Financial contributions allow NAMI to offer an array of programs, initiatives and activities in support of the NAMI mission.