Greetings!! Hello to all of my WONDERFUL supporters, including family, friends, and most importantly my honored teammate Mach and his family! I am writing to share some excellent news. My "Miles for Mach" challenge has been accomplished and was an overwhelming success!! As many of you know, my personal goal was to raise $5,000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society (LLS) in Mach's name. I am pleased to announce that as of today I have raised over ***$7,200*** -- and I owe it all to each and every one of you. Thank you SO MUCH for your unending generosity. I believe very strongly that your donations are going to an extremely worthy cause. Just ask Mach!! In case you haven't checked his web site (www.machleukemia.homestead.com) lately, his recovery from his transplant is going extremely well. Pretty soon he'll be training for his own marathon! As for the race itself, WOW what an experience. On Wed before the race, we all got an Email saying that they had just re-measured the course for the first time in quite a few years and that it was actually 87.2 miles, not 86. We had to laugh at that. When you're going that far, what's one more mile? J Then, the next day Mach posted an update on his website saying that things were going "outstanding" for him. I couldn't have asked for better or more motivational news to kick off the big weekend! Race day was Sunday October 6. It started out on a tough note when the bus taking us to the start line was almost an hour late. When we got there we scrambled to get our gear on and get to the line, which we were just barely able to do. But before we knew it, we were off!! Some of my teammates were doing the "half-distance" of 38 miles and some of us were doing the full 87 mile distance. There were a few injuries and crashes along the way, and a lot of leg cramps from the heat, but overall everyone did really well! I myself never had any problems with leg cramps but did face an interesting challenge around mile 70 when, already exhausted, I had now lost the brake to my skate. Ironically enough this happened at the top of the longest downhill on the whole course. AGH!!! I had visions of myself as a pile of bones at the bottom. But I wiped those visions away and thought instead of Mach and how he has overcome his challenges with so much strength. I knew I could triumph as well. I made it down that hill in one piece and continued on through a thunderstorm to the finish line in a time of 8:03:26. I am very proud of this accomplishment. I am even more proud of the fact that Team-In-Training raised over $380,000 for the LLS through this event. How great is that?!?! Thank you all again for your intense support for me this summer. I could not have done it without you. Special thanks also go to my Mom, my Aunt Sue, and Sue's lab Tucker who were a great support crew and cheering section on race day! I also want to thank all of my TNT team members for helping make this such an amazing experience. I am so proud of every single person and am honored to have been a part of this team. A few pictures are attached below in case you are interested. Everyone take care and please continue praying for Mach and his family. My challenge is complete but his journey continues and we are all a part of it with him. KEEP UP THE GREAT WORK, MACH!!!! -Amy |
This is Amy...in case you didn't know (click on the picture to see more photos) |
