Want to Run the ING NYC Marathon? NFE Has Only Eight More Spots!

Our top five reasons to run NYC with NFE:

5. It’s a premier race. Where else can you run in the same event as Super Bowl Champion Amani Toomer and other sports elite athletes?
4. Sightseeing Galore. Spanning all five boroughs, the marathon course will take you across five bridges, through cultural neighborhoods and Central Park.
3. Great Music. If the cheers from the sidelines aren’t enough, enjoy more than 100 live bands stationed at regular intervals to motivate you to the next mile. From kilted men holding bagpipes to funky sidewalk bands, there will be live entertainment from start to finish.
2. NFE Family Support. Our staff and team provide support and advice all along the course. In September, NFE will have weekend training runs through Central Park to help for the big day. And, if you don’t live in NYC, take advantage of our online training plans. You can also get personalized training advice from our certified coaches.
1. NF Heroes. Training is tough and some days you probably wonder, why would I ever want to do this? Children and adults with NF have to keep pressing on even on through MRIs, doctor appointments, feeding tubes and other complications of NF. NFE can match you with an NF Hero and you can even meet some of them at our team pasta dinner. Be inspired by knowing that because you have chosen to RuNFor a Reason, you can cross the finish line.

For more information on how to RuNFor a Reason in NYC, please e-mail Molly at (Enable Javascript to see the email address).

Weekend Pacesetter (Aug. 20-22, 2010)

CHASE
…down the cure! Join the Schmutzler’s in Carmel, Ind., for a 5K run/walk to benefit the Children’s Tumor Foundation. Chasing Down the Cure will start at 8:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 21, 2010 at Northview Church (5535 E. 131st St.). All funds raised will be donated directly to the Foundation.

FYI: As an MD and PhD student, researcher and husband, Brian Schmutzler stays busy. In 2008 he found the time to create Chasing Down the Cure, a 5K Run/Walk to raise money for NF research. Nearly 100 participants ran the course designed especially for the Northview church property. Donated prizes helped acknowledge winners in overall and age and gender categories. However, the main focus Schmutzler said was on NF: patients, treatments and research. The event has brought together patients, healthcare professionals, family and friends through fundraising, running, and generating awareness. Scmutzler is also a recipient of the Foundation funded Young Investigator Awards, which enable young scientists to study and contribute to NF research.

HURRY
It’s not too late to run in one of the most premier races of running — the ING NYC Marathon. Join a team that raised almost $200,000 for research in 2009. For more information on how to get a slot, visit nfendurance.org/nyc or e-mail Molly at (Enable Javascript to see the email address). Hurry, these slots are going fast!

SIGN UP
Get accurate information on NF1, NF2 and Schwannomatosis by signing up on CTF’s website. Click here for five reasons why.

ANNA’S WEEKEND TOP 10
It’s hard to do: staying healthy on weekends as daily routines get shifted. Whether it’s a social gathering or a busy day of sports schedules and errands, here are some tips to keep your healthy nutrition choices in balance. Anna’s best advice? Cheat a little, but not a lot.

1.Snack on a big plate of veggies before going to a party or dinner.
This will fill you up on the good stuff; then you’re not as hungry at dinner.
2. Drink two glasses of water before dinner.
You will feel less hungry if you are properly hydrated.
3.Take a smaller portion than normal.
When making a plate of food, this tip can help eating too much. Have seconds if you’re still hungry. Plus, this will encourage you to eat more slowly.
4. Drink a glass of water between each glass of wine or cocktail.
This makes you less hungry and you will drink less calories too.
5. Limit your sweets to one, no one of everything.
If your craving the sweets, have just one of your favorites and eat slowly, enjoying it completely. If possible, eat half of it and save the other half for later.Your sweet tooth can get another taste later.
6. Fill half your plate with veggies.
When making a plate for dinner eat mostly the healthy foods (veggies, fruit, salad, etc.) and the other half with a mix of your carbs and protein.
7. Eat slowly!
It takes about 15 minutes after you eat that your body feels the fullness completely. Eating slowly allows the body to feel its fullness before you’ve eaten too much.
8. Wait for at least 15 minutes before having seconds.
Most likely you will feel too full by then.
9.  Stand and Mingle (or take a walk).
This helps digestion tremendously and will help burn off calories from dinner.
10. 15 minutes of workout for every piece of pie.
Before taking a cookie, piece of chocolate, piece of pie, candy, or any sweet, make a deal with yourself…. commit to 15 minutes of cardio exercise that next day!

New York City’s Marathon Man

By: Emily Brown

He is not your everyday marathon man.

In fact Hugh McLoughlin never imagined running 26.2 miles. Running wasn’t his gig. However, when his daughter Claire was diagnosed in January 2009 with neurofibromatosis (NF), he discovered the Children’s Tumor Foundation. “As loving parents we struggled with our next step until we discovered the Children’s Tumor Foundation’s website,” said Hugh. “It’s here, where we found our direction.”

He decided he could run for Claire by joining the NF Endurance team.

In April he decided to run in the 2009 ING NYC Marathon. Hugh, who lives in Port Washington, N.Y., with his wife Stacey, committed to one of the team’s charity spots, which required a $2,500 commitment. He penciled in $3,000.

When he received his neon singlet in the mail, he stamped the words “4 Claire” on the mesh material as a reminder of why he would endure long runs, tight muscles and blisters.

He began his 16-week training plan and fundraising efforts using the NF Endurance program’s support tools. “The NFE team made it easy for me to embark on my first fundraising event.”

As his 16-week training plan came to an end, he was getting nervous about whether or not he could run 26.2 miles. He checked his total fundraising. It’s a good thing he penciled-in his goal of $3,000. He had raised $11,000.

“Over 110 people generously opened their wallets during this time of economic uncertainty and said to me, we believe in your cause.”

On the eve of race day, the NF Endurance Team held its pasta dinner at Planet Hollywood. For Hugh and Stacey it was the first time to meet others in the NF family – parents of other children with NF, NF Heroes and their runners, and the NF Endurance staff. “We left the dinner feeling united and stronger about our purpose – to find a cure,” said Hugh.

Nov. 1, 2009. Race day. Hugh gathered with other Endurance runners to take the One Train from midtown to the Staten Island ferry. ”We were an anxious group of fluorescent yellow,” said Hugh. “It felt great to be a part of a winning team with no possible losers.”

The neon cluster disbanded, dispersing to the appropriate starting gates. It was now about Hugh — a runner ready to put in his miles, a father trying to find a cure for his little girl.

As the race meandered through the boroughs of the Big Apple, Hugh found strength from the boisterous cheers of sideline supporters especially from the glowing clusters of fans wearing “NF” volunteer T-shirts at mile 14.

On First Avenue he hit the proverbial wall. He felt searing pain in his legs. He was exhausted; his gas tank empty.

At mile 19 NF Endurance Director Steve Kendra and volunteer coach Malcolm Macdonald ran beside him offering words of encouragement.  Malcolm, who was visiting from France, gave Hugh a mint, brought all the way from Europe. “I thought, how generous and pushed on.”

At mile 24 he had nothing left. And then he thought of Claire, the little princess he had stamped on his neon singlet. He finished the race in 4:37.

Although finishing the NYC marathon was once on his bucket list it has now become his reason for running – for Claire and for millions of children and adults who push through pain every day. “Until we solve the puzzle and find a cure for NF, you’ll know where to find me every November.”

You can run for little Claire and many other hometown NF Heroes by joining the NF Endurance team in the 2010 ING NYC Marathon. For more information on obtaining a charity slot, please click here or e-mail Molly Fisher ((Enable Javascript to see the email address)) or visit NFEndurance.org/NYC.