Why I am running?

I am running this race in memory of my mom who passed away from Cancer one year ago this week.  To make a long story short I am new to running.  Not too long ago I was a pack a day smoker and couldn't run two miles.  One day I decided to make a change in my life.  I stopped smoking and signed up for my first race.  A week before my first race, an 8k on June 18, 2011, my mom became very ill and was taken to the hospital.  The night before my first race all the test results came back and cancer had consumed her whole body.  They gave her at best a week to live.  The last conversation I had with my mom was about the race the next day.  She told me how happy she was about the changes I had made in my life and that I seemed to be much happier than she had seen me in a long time.  She made me promise to run that race and even joked about me running a marathon.  The day after that 8k race my mom passed away.  Last March, I ran that marathon we joked about and now I will take on a new challenge this September in her memory.  My mom loved volunteering and doing anything she could to help as many charities as she could.  So, with it being a year since her passing I couldn't think of any other way to honor and remember her.  That is why I am running this race and I hope to raise a lot of money, in memory of my mom, for a great charity!

Who I am running for!

I am running to raise money for St. Mary's Home for Disabled Children.  St. Mary’s Home for Disabled Children in Norfolk is a special place full of love and laughter, where children and young adults live, play, go to school and receive complex, professional, around-the-clock care in a nurturing, comfortable environment to help them achieve their fullest potential.   St. Mary’s Home is a long-term pediatric residential care facility dedicated exclusively to children with severe physical and intellectual disabilities and one of only about 100 facilities of its kind nationwide. Staff provide medical, therapeutic, educational and recreational services for as many as 92 children and young adults, ages newborn to 21 years.  To learn more about this great organization please visit http://saintmaryshome.org/ 

As an added bonus for you runners out there, I am sure you have heard of Team Hoyt!  St. Mary's Home also provides riders for the local Team Hoyt team! 

Finally what I am running!

I am running a race known as the Ultra Beast!  The first of its kind, the Ultra Beast will be the world's first marathon distance Obstacle Race.     It will no doubt be the hardest run I will have ever done to date.  So... Yes please donate because I will need the extra motivation.  The Ultra Beast will be 26+ miles in the mountains of Killington, VT and will include 50+ obstacles scattered throughout the mountain.  If that wasn't enough this race will also be largely unsupported as only one aid station will be on course with water and/or sports drinks at an undisclosed location on the course.  This means I will have to carry my own water and food.  This race could take anywhere from 8-14 hours I would guess.  The one thing I do know is no matter how long it takes I will get done with it.

Thanks for visiting now donate some money!!!!!

DAVE