Welcome!

Thanks for checking out my blog! I've decided to run 12 races in 2012 to raise money for Diamond Blackfan Anemia (DBA) research and to promote the bone marrow registry.

DBA is a very rare bone marrow disorder. People with DBA produce very little or no red blood cells. DBA patients are typically diagnosed within their first year of life. The majority of DBA patients require transfusions or corticosteroid medication. Some have bone marrow/ stem cell transplants.

My sister, Lizzie, was diagnosed at 6 weeks old and it is for her that I run.

Sunday, July 29, 2012

5k.. or triple threat?

I'm half way there!! Big thanks to everyone's encouragement, donations and friendly probing "um, its July.. how many races do you have left??" Thursday I ran the Run for Gus 5K. I know what you are thinking just a 5K? Anyone can run twelve 5Ks in a year. Going into this I said I really didn't want to do any 5Ks, but once I heard more about this race I decided it should count, and I think you'll agree.

After the race (time: 30:54)

So why do these 3.1 miles count? Because this was a triple threat. In running these 3.1 miles I added to my fundraising for DBA, donated money to Lurie Children's Hospital and helped the Beads of Courage program. BAM three amazing causes in one quick run.

I think what sold me most on this run was the Beads of Courage aspect. For those of you who are not with the program, Beads of Courage helps children with illnesses record, tell and own theirs stories by collecting beads. We'll use Lizzie as an example- with the Beads of Courage program every time she gets a transfusion she gets a red bead, every time she spends the night in the hospital she gets a different color bead. As I'm sure you can imagine after the last 18 years Lizzie has quite the bead collection.. as she says she literally has BOXES of beads. With the Run for Gus 5K participants had the option to pay an extra $15 to join Team Beads of Courage. With that you get two beads. One you keep. The other you run with then leave with a note of encouragement to go to one of the thousands of children fighting any number of diseases. What a phenomenal concept! I had to do it.

Me and my bead
The hardest part of this race was deciding what to write to a child who would be receiving this bead. How could I encourage and inspire them? My 3.1 miles paled in comparison to their daily struggles. I'd like to share that I had a moment of clarity and passed along wisdom and courage in an eloquent way that would make Ralph Waldo Emerson proud. But, alas, I did not... but surprisingly my number driven engineer husband shocked me with his thoughtful and poignant message that simply stated "I started this bead's journey, now you can finish it! Thinking of you as I run."





6 more runs to go, many more miles to cover, driven by 1 ever present goal.

(donate here: http://www.dbafoundation.org/donate.php mention Lizzie or Amy in the purpose)


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