Now, I had heard of the Falmouth Road Race but did not quite grasp the prominence or field size of the event when first suggesting it. Once we realized it was a lottery and logistics may prove tricky, we decided to pass and registered for the Narragansett Summer Running Festival instead (which we had a blast running by the way).
Initially, I was relieved.
Reading "seven miles" on a race description and running seven miles are very different things. And remember, this was back in early March where my longest run had topped out at four miles.Then I got to thinking. Why not go for it? Enter the lottery and let fate decide.
Well it turns out fate had another plan and the very same day I decided I would enter the lottery, I received an update from Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund (to which I have donated in the past) announcing that they were accepting applications for the Dana-Farber Falmouth Road Race team. Go for a personal goal while also raising money for an amazing organization? Done and done. So I applied and a few weeks later received word that I had received a spot on the team!
So began my journey towards running Falmouth's infamous seven miles as well as raising a minimum of $1250 for Dana-Farber. Both my husband and I have lost relatives to cancer on both sides of our family, and it seems like every day you hear the news that someone has received a dreaded diagnosis. But over this past year, three special people in my life had experiences with cancer that allowed me to see just how awful the disease is, not only for those fighting it but also their families who rally to provide hope and light amid the fear and darkness. Knowing that every dollar raised by my fundraising would support life-saving and changing research to end this awful disease, and knowing that the people I was running for were enduring a journey tougher than any I can imagine, pushed me on through my training and fundraising. Soon the morning's spring chill gave way to summer's humid grip, and the totals on my running app and fundraising page kept rising.
Suddenly it was August.
And where I thought I could never run seven miles, I had now ran seven miles or more several times.
And where I worried I might not raise $1250, my amazing donors helped me to raise $3500!
Now it was time to run the race.
Reading "seven miles" on a race description and running seven miles are very different things. And remember, this was back in early March where my longest run had topped out at four miles.Then I got to thinking. Why not go for it? Enter the lottery and let fate decide.
Well it turns out fate had another plan and the very same day I decided I would enter the lottery, I received an update from Dana-Farber and the Jimmy Fund (to which I have donated in the past) announcing that they were accepting applications for the Dana-Farber Falmouth Road Race team. Go for a personal goal while also raising money for an amazing organization? Done and done. So I applied and a few weeks later received word that I had received a spot on the team!
So began my journey towards running Falmouth's infamous seven miles as well as raising a minimum of $1250 for Dana-Farber. Both my husband and I have lost relatives to cancer on both sides of our family, and it seems like every day you hear the news that someone has received a dreaded diagnosis. But over this past year, three special people in my life had experiences with cancer that allowed me to see just how awful the disease is, not only for those fighting it but also their families who rally to provide hope and light amid the fear and darkness. Knowing that every dollar raised by my fundraising would support life-saving and changing research to end this awful disease, and knowing that the people I was running for were enduring a journey tougher than any I can imagine, pushed me on through my training and fundraising. Soon the morning's spring chill gave way to summer's humid grip, and the totals on my running app and fundraising page kept rising.
Suddenly it was August.
And where I thought I could never run seven miles, I had now ran seven miles or more several times.
And where I worried I might not raise $1250, my amazing donors helped me to raise $3500!
Now it was time to run the race.