The beginning of a long road

Those of you who have known me for a few years might remember that I ran the NYC Marathon in 2007 with the goal of raising money for Boston Children’s Hospital. The short version of the story is that through the kindness of friends and strangers alike, Children’s received almost $9,000. I held up my end of the deal by finishing in 4 hours and 23 minutes (plus or minus). Not bad considering that my time in 2003 was 4:59 and I was 4 years older (and rounder). All things considered I was very happy with the results since I’m not exactly built like a marathoner.

About a week ago I signed up for the Tough Mudder New England, to be held on May 7, 2011 at Mount Snow in Vermont. You can read more about the event here. I honestly don’t know what got into me, I’m so far from being in the shape I need to be in order to finish the event. I guess age, ego and a desire to do something notable. Perhaps more importantly, I’ll be running for Children’s again. My goal is to raise $2,500 at a minimum, although I do have a secret “stretch” goal (sorry, can’t tell you yet).

If you’re feeling generous, or maybe even if you’re not, feel free to head on over to my fundraising page at the Children’s Hospital site. All the money raised goes to pay for some of the best pediatric care available in the world, and many times helps those that wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford care at all.

I’ll tell you more about why I’m doing this shortly, but that’s a topic for another day. In the mean time, I’ve started training this week, and let me tell you, it’s a good thing it’s a long time between now and the event, I need every day of it.