Tuesday, May 29, 2012

Cure JM, the Baltimore Running Festival, and Me.

Cure JM

So I was going to write a short post about Cure JM, but then I watched the DadLabs show and everything changed...

Kevin, who writes at Always Home and Uncool, sent me an email, asking me (and others) if there was anything anyone could do to help the charity organization Kevin and his wife started after their daughter was diagnosed with JM:

Juvenile Myositis (JM) is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks its own cells and tissues. For many children with JM, it's a challenge to simply stand up or sit down. This rare disease affects approximately 2-4 children out of a million.
Cure JM Foundation is an all-volunteer foundation created and managed by families of children with Juvenile Myositis. Cure JM Foundation's mission is to provide support for families coping with JM, raise awareness of JM, and fund research that will ultimately lead to a cure.
The Foundation's aspirational goal is to never, ever let another child suffer with Juvenile Myositis. With your help, this goal may be well within reach some day.

More specifically, Kevin wanted to see if I could mention the fact that the charity was participating in the Baltimore Marathon (aka "The Baltimore Running Festival") in October, maybe because he knew I lived in Baltimore.

It was really a no-brainer. I sent Kevin an email back, telling him I would write about the charity and about the marathon, then mention it on Twitter and on Facebook. And that was it. Until I watched DadLabs.

Clay Nichols, also known as DaddyClay had an announcement on the show: He was going to travel from Austin to Baltimore to run in support of the charity.

Damn!

I live in Baltimore and all I could do was tweet about it?

See, he's kind of a big man, and when I saw he was running, I figured I could do it too. Unfortunately, by the time I realized jogging was actually his hobby, and that his Twitter account was full of "I just ran 13 miles in 30 minutes" updates, it was too late. I was already signed up.

DaddyClay
DaddyClay and The Motivator




So I'll be running too. I'll be running the 5K, don't get me wrong, but even that's a lot for someone who doesn't do the running-thing.

As soon as I made up my mind, I went to the gym and started running on the treadmill. About 45 minutes later (My wife: "45 minutes for 5K? That's fast-walking!"), a sweaty but happy tomato was looking back at me in the mirror. I can do this.

Please read Kevin's latest blog post, Run for this Cure JM Kid’s Life, which has more information about his daughter, the charity, and the marathon. You can also head over to my FirstGiving page and click around to read more about the charity there, or donate directly from the page.
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6 comments:

  1. Finally, I have a running buddy for the 5K. My wife is doing the half marathon. Frickin' showoff.

    Thanks for supporting Cure JM!

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    Replies
    1. Cool. I think we'll both be comfortable with our own pace. Maybe we'll get to the finish line at the same time as your wife.

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  2. you could use the CouchTo5K app. I never used to run, then I used the app, ran a 5K, and have not run since. but, hey at least it got me in shape to do the 5K!

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    Replies
    1. I saw this app, and it looks interesting, but I can actually do the 5K now (after one failed attempt, I've managed to do it outdoors as well, only crying once).

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  3. I started a FirstGiving page for Cure JM for this as my 6 year old grandson Kinser has JDM.. I was going to write a little ditty about if I were to raise $1,000 on my page, I would run this race.. Problem is I have too many friends who would donate just to see a 61 year old crazy woman pass out 20 feet into the race.!! I am known as Ninja Nana but geesh.. :-)

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    Replies
    1. That's funny. They also have a one-mile run for under 12-year-olds. I was thinking of getting a Mission Impossible face mask so I could do this one in case the 5K proves to be too hard...

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