Goals are important. They keep us moving forward. When training for a marathon, I like to break the ultimate goal (26.2 miles) in to 18 weeks of smaller goals. Over time, the weekly mileage increases to condition us for race day. I keep a print out of my training schedule handy and find it very satisfying to cross off my daily runs/workouts. A visible, tangible record of my accomplishments for the week.
For the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge team, my teammates and I have an additional goal. We are charged with raising money to benefit the Claudia Adams Barr program in Innovative Cancer Research. In a nutshell, the Barr Program is critical for conducting basic research, which is not eligible for federal funding until well along in proof of principle. The program enables leading-edge, highly-innovative research up to the point that it may be possible to attract government or private support. Barr Investigator awards help advance the professional development of Dana-Farber’s newly appointed Instructors and Assistant Professors who otherwise lack seed funding to test hypotheses and bring promising studies forward in completely new areas of research.
I am proud to report that, over the course of my 4 DFMC races and my 2014 fundraising to date, I have raised $50,367.55!!! 2008: $10,245.55; 2010: $10,001.00; 2012: $13,686.00; 2013: $15,440.00 I am more proud of these totals than any of my marathon finishing times. Losing a loved one to cancer is a very powerless feeling. It has been so amazing to actually DO SOMETHING to honor my Mom and my In-Memory Partner, Jonathan Smyth.
So…this all being said…I have set a lofty goal for my 2014 DFMC fundraising--$15,000! We have done it before and we can do it again! As of today 2/28/14, my Barr Program total is $995.00. I have a lot of work to do over the next 1 month 20 days and 21 hours! I realize that, in reaching out to you, I am “tapping the same well” as I have over the past 4 races. You have all been so generous! If you can, please consider a small donation to help me reach my goal!
And if you have already donated, THANK YOU!
XO
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