SUCCESS! THE ‘SHORT’ VERSION

SUCCESS! THE ‘SHORT’ VERSION

The Boston Marathon, April 19, 2010 – what a memorable experience!

The blog posted immediately below this one is a detailed account of my adventure. I wrote it primarily for myself, but for those of you who may be interested in reading about more than ‘just the facts,’ feel free. I should warn you, though, that it takes 12 pages to print out. But there are so many memories that I wanted to capture that I just kept going.

Thanks to the support of so many people – family, friends, colleagues, and even a number of people whom I do not know personally – I was able to exceed my personal goal of raising $10,000 for the Dana-Farber Cancer Challenge in support of the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research. With contributions still coming in, my total is just over $10,800, well above the average raised by each team member, but more importantly one more step along the path to the ultimate goal – a world without cancer. The break-throughs that have resulted in improved treatment and cure rates, new medications, and basic understanding of so many aspects of the physiology of cancer as a result of Barr grants are impressive. For those of you interested in learning more, please go to a description of Barr Program dollars in action.

From the start in Hopkinton, at about 45oF, to the finish on Boylston Street in downtown Boston, at about 55o, the hundreds of thousands of spectators lining the route provided support and encouragement that helped me to complete my power walk (a bad knee has precluded running for over 25 years) in 5 hours, 24 minutes, 47 seconds, a pace of 12:24/mile. This was less than 2 minutes slower than my personal record for a Marathon. I was tired, but elated, as I crossed the finish line. Throughout the course, but especially in the last couple of miles, knowing that I was participating in honor and in memory of family and friends, and many more identified by those who supported my fund-raising efforts, truly did provide inspiration.

You are invited to read my earlier postings for background (the first posting) on why I did this in the first place, and others posted throughout my training period.

Thank you so much to all who supported my adventure in any way. If any of you would still like to make a contribution in support of my efforts on behalf of Dana-Farber, you can do so on-line on my web page or by sending a check, made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge, to me at
541 McCormick Avenue
State College, PA 16801

Together, we are making a difference.