18 Day's to the Boston Marathon

B-day – 18

The New Bedford Half Marathon was a great success!! I used the race as prep for Boston, my plan was to run the course at my marathon pace, but that went out the window as soon as the gun went off!! This course throws everything at you but the kitchen sink, with an assortment of hills, ocean views, tailwinds, and headwinds. It was nice to start the day with my brother and father; I think we started a new tradition!! Thanks for the support mom, somehow she managed to cook a broiled dinner and cheer us on!!

Last Saturday I headed out to Hopkinton with the Parkway Running Club for my last big twenty miler!! It was a tuff day on the course with a headwind accompanied by heartburn, side-stitches and calf cramps it made for a long day, putting my body and spirit to the test!! I guess that’s were the saying - what doesn’t break you can only make you stronger, and today I feel 99% ready for Monday April 17, 2006!!! Keep an eye out for number 18864!!

On another note:

I wanted to mention a BIG reason I’m running and raising money for Dana-Farber, it’s for children like Hunter! If you go back a few blogs I mentioned a women that was at my table for the DFMC first-timers meeting, her name is Katie Donigan and she is running for Dana-Farber in honor of her three year old daughter Hunter who was diagnosed with Leukemia in December 2003. The past few months Hunter was cancer free :). The other night Cathy and I read she recently relapsed. I haven’t spoken or seen Katie since the first group run but I will be praying for Hunter and her family and will be thinking of them as I run!

I run for hope,

Ryan