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| Me,Zach Dubuc, and Steve Poirer volunteering at Shifter's 5K Dana Farber Fundraiser |
I have always started my blog posts with an update on our fundraising progress and in many ways this is deeply connected to my theme this week-the power of community. As of today, I have $14,291 posted to my account and there are an additional $450 worth of checks that I have sent in that will be posted soon. This brings us to a grand total of $14,741. This means we are $249 away from $15,000. If you have not yet donated, now is a perfect time to help get us to our destination. For those who have donated and given support in the ways that you can, there are not words that could adequately express my complete gratitude for the incredibly support that I have received. Community is at the core this support. While I appreciate the support in my fundraising efforts because I believe Dana Farber is a cutting edge hospital where researchers are doing amazing work, I have been so touched by the many stories so many of you have shared about the ways in which cancer has touched your life. I also feel even more committed to my fundraising and running because so many of you have also shared how Dana Farber has impacted you or your family.
This for me is the real deal. “A world without cancer” is not just a catchy slogan for Dana Farber. It is a goal which they are working towards with laser like focus. Each of your donations and the stories you have shared have become part of our community effort to help Dana Farber see their goal realized. So it is with a heart felt thanks that I say-you are making a difference in the lives of families today and families of tomorrow. I really wish that so many of us did not have such connections to Dana Farber, but if we must face cancer we must do so with every resource possible. Thank you for being the resource driving change for a better tomorrow-one without cancer.
The Power of Community
Community makes so much possible. This is an idea that has really echoed loudly throughout my experience training for the marathon and especially doing so with the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team. As Margaret Mead so wisely said “A small group of thoughtful people could change the world. In fact, that is the only thing that ever has.” Each week throughout my training, I have been reminded of the power of a group of people who may not see themselves as changing the world, but at least recognize that they can make a difference. This is community in action and it has many faces.
Long Runs with Teammates
Over the last 16 weeks I have been so inspired by so many of my teammates and the many reasons for which they run. Perhaps it is this connection that adds such meaning to our long runs. It really gives perspective to the challenge of the long run when you hear some of the stories of the challenges so many of our extended community (those for whom we run) have faced or continued to face. Suddenly it makes the rising hill that awaits us seem small. There really is something magical about spending 2-3 hours and sometimes more with a group of people who are running with purpose- a world without cancer. Sure, we focus on pace. We talk about the importance of hydration and strive for negative splits as our coach Jack so wisely advises. We talk about the events of the week between runs. However, on all of our team runs I have learned how many lives cancer has touched-one life is too many. I am a better runner for having trained with them, but more importantly I am a better person for having shared time and stories with them.
Teammates on Daily Mile
In addition to my teammates with whom I have shared many miles with, I have also experienced community with a number of teammates on Daily Mile- a social networking site where we log our miles and give each-other support. It is really amazing how logging your miles each day and each week can seem monotonous. However, when I log it on daily mile it is quickly followed with a response from some of my other teammates who are also working towards their goals. I have meet several teammates in-person at team runs or races, but it is amazing how this online community has provided support for me. Perhaps it is the shared experience. Perhaps it is simply knowing that you are not alone. We have celebrated small wins together. Sometimes it is a great workout or a run at a pace we did not think possible. Sometimes it is connected to our fundraising. Sometimes, it is sharing the cumulative pains of logging so many miles each week. However, again, the power of community is reinforced for me. I am stronger both mentally and physically because I have shared my weekly training with this community.
Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Volunteers
The Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team volunteers have made the long runs possible. I was reminded of this today as a fellow teammate and attempted to log 16 miles without the organized and perfectly spaced water stops. Today I struggled with hydration. Yet, it was our DFMC community that allowed me to run with a teammate today instead of running alone. It is not just the water and Gatorade on the organized runs that these volunteers provide. It is the support and encouragement and their shared stories that makes our runs more meaningful. I always make sure to thank the volunteers because quite honestly I am not sure I could have been as successful on my long runs without them. Once again, I was stronger because of their presence. Community is what makes things possible and the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team is not jus the runners. The volunteers work just has hard and make just as much of a commitment. Many of them give up their Saturday’s or Sundays all over the course of the 18 weeks of training. I will say that is something special. I am a stronger runner and a better person because of the time and dedication of the volunteers.
Family and Supporters
Our families, friends and our supporters play an amazing role in supporting our efforts and in making Dana Farber’s Ultimate Goal- A world without Cancer possible. You are patient with us when we are tired and when our training schedules demands more time than we might have. You ask us how training is going or how many miles we logged over the weekend. You encourage us and remind us of the importance of our efforts when we may have had a not so great run and are feeling less the confident. You take the time to share your personal connection to our efforts which adds fuel to the flame that keeps us going. You give so generously to make meeting our fundraising goals possible.
Making a Difference
I will end this weeks post by sharing the starfish story which is by Loren Eisely because I think it adds to the words of Margaret Mead nicely and speaks to the gratitude I have for the many ways so many of you have made a difference in my journey over the last 16 weeks.
The Starfish Story
One day a man was walking along the beach when he noticed a boy picking something up and gently throwing it into the ocean. Approaching the boy, he asked, “What are you doing?” The youth replied, “Throwing starfish back into the ocean. The surf is up and the tide is going out. If I don’t throw them back, they’ll die.” “Son,” the man said, “don’t you realize there are miles and miles of beach and hundreds of starfish? You can’t make a difference!” After listening politely, the boy bent down, picked up another starfish, and threw it back into the surf. Then, smiling at the man, he said “I made a difference for that one.”
When people come together as a community and do what they can to make a difference, it is amazing what can happens The starfish story is for anyone who believes that in this big world in which we live that they alone, can not make a difference-you can. It is also for all of you who have given $5, $25, $100 or whatever amount you were able to give. It is for my teammates with whom I have run who have made the miles a little more possible. It is for the volunteers who provided me with the hydration and more importantly the encouragement and their stories. It is for my family, friends and co-workers who have stepped up in so many ways to help support Dana Farber’s ultimate goal-a world without cancer- and in honor of a courageous boy named Josh who lost his life way to early to cancer. It is in your memory that I run and we will have raised $15,000 to support cancer research. That is the power of community and making a difference.
With gratitude,
Kerry D
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