Posted: May 4th, 2010 | Author: Emily Brown | Filed under: races/destinations, Run for a reason | Tags: General Mills, Lucky Charms, NF, Rachel Heiman, Run for a reason, Twin Cities Marathon | No Comments »
by: Rachel Heiman
Stephanie and Rachel with the Lucky Charms Leprechaun.
I ran the Run of the Mills 5K last year with my dad and brother. It is a General Mills sponsored run for employees and their families. This year my dad “adopted” my cousin Stephanie for this run as well. My dad told us that the race started at 8:00 a.m. and we planned to meet them in the parking lot at 7:30 a.m.. Stephanie, Andy and I got to the parking lot at about 7:20 a.m. and there were three cars in the entire lot. The year before the lot had been completely full. I had a feeling dad was wrong on the start time so I gave him a call. He said, “No, I’m sure it was at 8:00.”
Dad arrives, we get our race numbers on, and go in to the General Mills campus. Dad runs off to talk to some of his coworkers and then returns to say, “I made a mistake. The race starts at 9:00.” Turns out we had to stand around for a while before the race actually started. This gave us ample time to get pictures with all of the General Mills cereal characters.
Steph and I wore our NF jerseys to this run. We were actually surprised to see another NF runner in the crowd so we ran over to her and talked to her. She had cycled the MS 100 the year before and her daughter had NF. We took a photo with her and then parted ways as the race director was asking everyone to line up.
As Steph and I lined up for the race, another woman came up to me and said, “I like your shirt!” She then asked me where I’d “run that race”? I told her I ran the Twin Cities Marathon and then she said, “No, where did you run the NF race?” I explained that I was a part of the NF Endurance Team that runs for NF and she said, “Thank you for doing that. I have NF.” Truly inspiring.
Posted: December 2nd, 2009 | Author: Emily Brown | Filed under: fundraising, motivation, nutrition | Tags: Anne Shigley, Boston, fundraising, half marathon, Mount Ranier, NF, NF Endurance, Portland, RAAM, research | No Comments »
PORTLAND HALF MARATHON
We’re letting you in on a secret — the Portland Half Marathon has an early sign up option for the 10.10.10 race. And, the best part? Save $25 if you register now. There are only 3,000 entries and they will go FAST. Don’t forget to sign up on our website too.
BOSTON SLOTS AVAILABLE
We have two slots available for the 114th Boston Marathon. Slots come with a $5,000 fundraising commitment to NF research. The race will be Monday, April 19, 2010. If you are interested, please sign up at nfendurance.org and choose “2010 Endurance Event Not Listed.” Slots are on a first come, first serve basis.
NF EXTREME
If you are interested in participating in the Race Across America (RAAM) 2011 or climbing Mount Rainier in either 2010 or 2011, please e-mail Emily at (Enable Javascript to see the email address).
RUN FOR HOPE
Anne Shigley has put together a collage with her picture and RUNFOR HOPE slogan to share why she is running to her friends and family.
Posted: November 5th, 2009 | Author: Emily Brown | Filed under: motivation, races/destinations | Tags: endurance, marathon, new york, NF | 1 Comment »
More than 65 NF Endurance runners tackled five boroughs on Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, wearing neon for the 40th running of the NYC Marathon. Collectively our runners ha
ve raised $166,911 and they aren’t done! (Visit the team site to read more about their efforts). A special thank you to Matt Garvic and John McCarthy for leading the team as captains. Our race day coaching crew included Steve Kendra, Kim Norman, Chad Leathers, Tracy Draper, Malcolm McDonald and Emily Brown. Check out our team photos on our Facebook fan page.
Vincent “Vinny” Squillace, a student at Boston University, shared a powerful experience he had on the course. Around mile 8 in Brooklyn, a woman came up to him while he was running. She said, “Oh my God, I want a picture. My son has NF!” Vinny shared with her about the Foundation’s mission — to find a cure for NF through research and why he was running. “You are what the world needs,” she said to Vinny. Vinny shared that with the Endurance team because it applies to all of us. “We are what the world needs,” said Vinny. “I am so proud of how far we’ve come.”
It was Peter Orlando’s first marathon. “The pasta party set me up for success,” said Peter. “I am so thankful for the NF Endurance team to allow me the chance to run for such a great cause. Thank you to everyone that was cheering me on the sidelines; that is really what gave me the push to the end. Whoever was at the last 400m really gave me an adrenaline rush. This was an unforgettable weekend and I’m already planning my next marathon.”
But, perhaps Hugh McLoughlin says it best: “My body aches, no, hurts, but my heart beats strong from the incredible amount of money raised to help solve the puzzle.”