Last thoughts before the race

Today has been a wonderful day - as a good a day leading up to the race as I could have imagined. Liz, my father and I went into Boston to pick up my number and register for both the race itself and for Dana-Farber. After shuffling through the crowds at the Hynes Convention Center and swiping some free stuff we went to the DFMC pasta party.
Up to this point, I had a good idea of what this is all about, but the Pasta Party puts it into real perspective. You walk into the party down a hallway lined by posters with pictures of children being treated at Dana-Farber. The tributes to the in memory of and in honor of children (children who are paired with a runner to represent them in the race) left lumps in throats and few dry eyes in the place. As I write this, I have broken the 7,000 dollar mark and how proud I am to know that that money can make a difference. The real perspective comes from seeing the last few months of training in terms of what was and drawing on the strength of the people that lost their battles to cancer in a sense, I was missing the now. Tomorrow, it is the strength of those who fight now and the happiness of those whose battles with this disease may be easier in the future that will carry me, along with the memory of those I have lost. Today Dana-Farber became not about the past, but about the present and the differences being made now. Those of us who have watched people suffer and fight and die from cancer know how horrible this disease is and we know the best thing we can do to honor them is to do all we can to lessen the suffering and bolster the fight of the nameless cancer patients who are presently afflicted. That is my hope going into tomorrow.

I am tremendously grateful for all who have donated and supported me along the way. The road doesn't end tomorrow...

P.S. Check out the articles about me in the Keene Sentinel and Clinton Item.