Monthly Archives: March 2014

Team MR8 – I Made It To The Taper!

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Such a great run today. Beautiful weather. Hundreds and hundreds of other runners. Water stops everywhere. My family following me along the way to give me an extra boost every now and then. It really just couldn’t get any better.

There were some emotional times for me for sure. The first was running by the memorial for Meg Menzies – the “Soles of Love” tree of shoes at the one mile mark in Hopkinton. Meg was a Virginia runner, wife, and mother of three, who was planning to run in the Boston Marathon this year. She was struck by a car and killed just a few months ago while out on a training run.

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The second was when I turned the corner to start the climb through the Newton Hills. The Newton Fire station is right after the turn, and they had a boot out to collect donations for the families of the two Boston Firefighters who died in the line of duty earlier this week. The boot was overflowing with contributions made by the runners out today.

Third was at Mile 19, at the Johnny Kelley statue. Here was the Team MR8 water stop. The entire Richard family was there, smiling, and enjoying the day. I introduced myself to Bill Richard (Martin’s father) and he introduced me to all of his family and friends as “one of their runners”. I have been running for charities for years but never have I felt a stronger connection to the cause I was running for than I did today.

At Mile 20, Mike and the kids were waiting for me. I had just one mile to go and Ryan wanted to run with me. And so we ran that last mile together. It was a bit symbolic because I had hoped to have one or both of my kids cross the finish line with me last year. And so Ryan and I “ran” that final mile hand-in-hand and we crossed the 21 Mile Finish Line together. I could not have asked for a better ending to a more perfect day.

And with that, I (finally) made it to the taper! As the marathon approaches, my fundraising total continues to climb. I am so grateful to all of you for your support and your generosity. My total amount raised so far is $6,590, and collectively the Team MR8 Boston Marathon Team (100 runners) has raised over $690K. Our team goal is $1M by Marathon Monday and I would love to see our team achieve this goal for this family! Please consider donating if you haven’t already! This is such a special, meaningful and worthy cause.

Thank you again so much for reading, and for your constant support. I appreciate it more than you know!

With much love and peace.

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Team MR8 – Peak Week!

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Peak week is finally here!

After several months of incrementally longer runs each week, this Saturday my long run training will (finally) peak at 21 miles.

I am both excited and nervous for this huge milestone. The weather people are predicting around 4-6 inches of snow tomorrow (Wednesday), but it is then supposed to warm up so hopefully it will have mostly all melted prior to my run on Saturday. I will be running on the course, starting in Hopkinton and finishing at the top of Heartbreak Hill. There will be hundreds of other runners out on the course as well on Saturday, as most of the charities will also be doing their peak long run this weekend. Everything starts to feel really “real” after this week!

I would like to share with you an update on Jane Richard (Martin’s sister) from the Richard family. Recently, Jane has been fitted with a new prosthetic leg that will allow her to renew her active lifestyle (she loves Irish Step Dancing!). “Never self-conscious and always smiling, Jane has worn it to school several times which speaks to the can-do spirit she has displayed over the last 11 months.” Please read the complete update from the family here. I promise you, it will change your outlook on life. This family continues to amaze and inspire me. Despite all that they have been through over the last year, they are able to smile and celebrate each small step in their journey towards peace and healing.

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As the marathon approaches, my fundraising total continues to climb. I am so grateful to all of you for your support and your generosity. My total amount raised so far is $6,445, and collectively the Team MR8 Boston Marathon Team (100 runners) has raised over $635K. Our team goal is $1M by Marathon Monday and I would love to see our team achieve this goal for this family! Please consider donating if you haven’t already! This is such a special, meaningful and worthy cause.

Thank you again so much for reading, and for your constant support. I appreciate it more than you know!

Truth

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So here is the truth.

After a rough start due to an injury, my training is actually going really well. I managed to get caught up to my original training schedule pretty quickly and I have successfully completed the first of two 20 mile runs.

So all is good right? Great even?

Truth be told, I’m scared of a few things:

1. I’m still worried about my foot. I don’t really have any reason to be worried because it actually feels really good. But not too long ago it hurt really bad so I am a bit skeptical, that it won’t flare up again. I just keep hoping it can hold out for the five weeks I need it too, but it is kind of out of my control and always in the back of my mind.

2. Because of my foot injury, my training hasn’t been as intense as it was last year. I’ve skipped a few mid week runs here and there because of the kids’ schedules or my work schedule, and justified it as the rest being good for my foot. The pace of my long training runs hasn’t been as fast as last year either. So my mileage and my pace have both been below par with last year. And because I log all my runs, this is not just speculation. I’ve been comparing everything – weekly mileage and pace – with my training last year. Sometimes having data is not a good thing.

3. Last year I ran my fastest marathon ever and was so close to a marathon PR of 4:15. Even though I was given a ‘Participation Certificate’ that confirmed this ‘projected finish time’, it’s still not the same thing, I didn’t actually finish. So my original goal for the 2014 marathon was to run as fast, if not faster than my pace last year. But I am not sure how realistic this is since my training hasn’t been the same as last year. I don’t want to set the bar low but I also want to have realistic expectations. And I am afraid I will be disappointed if I don’t have a run as great as my run last year.

4. I’m worried about the weather. The weather last year was perfect, it could not have been any better. It’s highly unlikely that well have the same perfect weather conditions two years in a row.

5. I’m worried I won’t finish. After going through all the training last year and not finishing, it’s hard not to worry that the same thing will happen again. It’s been hard to train and tell yourself that it will all pay off at the finish line because that’s what I told myself last year. I am worried that something outside of my control will prevent me from finishing – again.

6. And I admit, I am a little worried about another attack. As much as I know that Boylston St. in Boston will be the safest place in the world on April 21st., there is still that nagging “what if” that is in the back of my mind.

So there you have it – the truth about some of my fears regarding this year’s marathon. I know that there will always be things that are not in my control, but a big aspect of running is knowing how to be flexible and make the right adjustments based on the conditions your dealt. So with that, I am ready to face all of these fears head on. There is so much positive energy surrounding this year’s marathon and I am very lucky to be a part of it.

Team MR8 – Update from the Richard Family

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Instead of hearing from me this week, I thought I would share this message that the Team MR8 runners received from Bill Richard today, as his words are more meaningful than mine could ever be. I also wanted you to see first hand how truly grateful the family is for all of the support they are receiving in the memory of their child, as well as some of the initiatives they are considering with the funds raised.

This weekend I ran a total of 22 miles – 18 yesterday and 4 today. Both days were perfect running days – beautiful, sunny, not too warm and not too cold. I think of Martin and his family often during my runs, and always carry his picture with me as a reminder of how truly precious this life is.

Thanks to all who have supported me already – I am extremely grateful for all of the donations I have received. If you would still like to contribute you can do so here: http://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/LauraDonia/team-mr8-boston-marathon-2014. Six weeks to go and counting…

Dear Team MR8,

We hope you are all doing well and perhaps back from a training run this morning — the weather is certainly warmer.  Our son Henry just left with his MR8 hat for a two mile loop we do in our neighborhood.  His first day of cross country practice is this Monday evening.

We write for a few reasons, not the least of which is to remind each of you how grateful we are to have you as an inaugural runner for our first marathon team.  Clearly it’s been a brutal winter for training (here in the northeast), but we expect and hope you will reap the rewards of such harsh conditions with a strong run on April 21.  We have 99 runners and will be adding our final runner in a day or two, so we’ll be 100 strong on Marathon Day.  You may notice our number of runners doesn’t match the number of fundraisers on the First Giving site and that’s because we allowed some registered runners to join and fundraise as a team – the amount raised being the same as if they we fundraising alone.  A few runners who are part of our team that you may not know about are Amby Burfoot, winner of the 1968 Boston Marathon and current Editor-at-Large of Runner’s World; Dave Mcgillivary, Race Director for the BAA, well known for his run across America in 1978 but still runs Boston every year, at night, when his work is done; and Blake Boldon, Executive Director of the Indianapolis Marathon, and among his many accomplishments the third Iowan to complete a sub-four minute mile.

Speaking of First Giving and your fundraising efforts, we are amazed at the response and the amount raised to date.  THANK YOU.  After some discussions here, we intend to raise our goal to $750,000 from the current $500,000.  This is not to move the goal line but rather to hopefully incentivize folks to donate to each of you and not be deterred as we approach or reach our goal. If we close in on 750K we will raise it to 1M.  Now that we have our official letter from the IRS authorizing all donations as tax deductible, we hope to raise funds from corporate donors as well, which will all be tallied on the First Giving page.  If anybody needs a copy of this letter please let Susan or one of us know.

**We are planning an event at a neighborhood restaurant, Tavolo Ristorante, www.tavolopizza.com, on on Sunday April 6, time TBD but likely 3-7pm.  Here you will be able to meet many of your new teammates and re-connect with some you’ve already met.  But also it will be a chance to pick-up your Saucony Gear which includes your race singlet, jacket, sneakers, hat and shirt.  If you can’t make this event we will UPS everything to you.  Note:  An email e-vite will be sent to you this week, please kindly respond so we can plan accordingly**

Since the Marathon Weekend falls on Easter Sunday this year, the events in Boston are largely crammed into Friday and Saturday but I am quite sure the BAA is still sponsoring their Pasta Dinner that Sunday night — you should check their website for details.  We will not be doing anything, team-wise, on Easter Sunday before race day.  On Saturday the 19th we will have up to 150 runners participating in the BAA sponsored 5K run:  family, friends and youth.   We will be wearing the same long sleeve shirt in your Saucony gear pack, so if you are in town Saturday morning feel free to come cheer us on.  The race starts at 8am.  And following the race on Monday you are welcome to stop by Equinox  Health Club just a few blocks from the finish line: www.equinox.com/clubs/dartmouth.  There you can shower, rest, get a massage from one of our on-site masseuses and have a light post-race snack.  More details as we get closer to race day.

Foundation News: We continue to plan and meet with larger foundations and corporations who are interesting in helping or partnering on various initiatives.  As you should all know by now, our Mission is to: Honor Martin’s message of ‘No more hurting people – Peace’ by investing in education, athletics and community.  Many of your donors, and perhaps yourselves, would like to know what exactly that means (?)  Our ideas are still fluid and we continue to meet and discuss, but some ideas range from Library Peace Corners and peace-based curricula (Education); retrofitting or making ballparks and playgrounds accessible to all children (Athletics) and thru Community by inspiring and mobilize kids through service, to make a difference in the world.  Also, to help families like ours, who suffer tragedy and are in need of community and/or financial support.

Every Monday, beginning tomorrow, you will receive an email from us – a “Monday Countdown” till Marathon Monday on April 21.  The email will offer an update on what we’re up to, maybe highlight a particular fundraising effort, but really just to give you greater insight of our efforts while you all continue your training for the big day.

Thanks and enjoy your Sunday.

Peace,
Bill and Denise Richard