Dear Friends and Family,

Every once in a while in life you need to throw down the gauntlet and issue yourself a challenge.  It seems that the older we get, the more we need these challenges to convince ourselves that "we still got it".

Cheri and I have decided to challenge ourselves physically, mentally and socially by running the 2012 Boston Marathon for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.  Physically because running 26.2 miles takes an enormous amount of training (we are in week 12 of 18).  Mentally because those last 6.2 miles are about convincing your mind that your body can make it.  Socially because this challenge would mean nothing if we were not doing it to raise funds and awareness for a worthy cause.

The Joe Andruzzi Foundation provides financial assistance (mortage/rent, utilities, car payments) for patients and their families battling cancer.  In addition, the foundation funds pediatric brain cancer research.

We know first hand of a family who has received assitance from the Joe Andruzzi Foundation as their four year old has battled leukemia for the past two years.  This assistance has been extremely helpful and allowed them to focus on getting healthy.

Additionally, Cheri and I had a close friend, Keye Brasley, pass away in 2004 from Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis. Our hope is that through increased funding for brain cancer research, we can prevent or cure diseases like this in the future.

Not to mention that both of our parents have recently battled cancer!

Clearly this charity means a lot to us personally and we would like to have a great impact.  The team has an overall fundraising goal of $60,000 with Cheri and I hopefully contributing a minimum of $5000 for the Joe Andruzzi Foundation.  We need all of your help to make this goal a reality.  I can assure you that we will not be running another marathon for a long time (maybe when we are 50 trying to keep up with our daughters).

Remember that there are two of us running, so if you want to sponsor us on a "per mile" basis, keep the following in mind:

- A $25 donation is about .50 per mile

- A $50 donation is about $1 per mile

- A $100 donation is about $2 per mile

- A $250 donation is about $5 per mile

Thank you very much for you support.

Chris & Cheri Boulanger