Running For A Cause

I have decided to run this marathon in honor of my Uncle, Norman Dobson.   I will also raise money for his chapter of the ALS Association.  This might be one of the most challenging parts of running the marathon for me.  I could have chosen to buckle down and simply focus on the running aspect of the race.  But, a few years ago my Uncle suffered from ALS and passed.  Simply put he was an amazing human being.  I've always wanted to find a way to raise money for ALS.  Here is my chance. How can I turn my back on this golden opportunity?

I have to admit that I really hate asking for money.  I know it's for charity. Still, it makes me really uncomfortable.  Asking for money from people is even further out of my comfort zone than running a marathon is.  I'm taking this on in the spirit of doing things I never thought I'd be able to. That's been the theme of my marathon journey.  What the heck, I'll add one more challenge to the pile.

So I have jumped in.  I started a link on a fundraising website.  Its crowdrise.com/ElizabethGardner.  I put this site up on facebook so that all of those "friends" may have a chance to donate.  I sent personal emails to local friends.  Tomorrow I'll be sending out letters and self addressed stamped envelopes to my extended family members.  This will hopefully make donating as easy as possible for them.  Hopefully I'll get some response.  This time next week I will be able to confidently say that I have done everything in my power to raise as much money as possible.

My goal is to raise $2,000.  I don't feel like it sounds like that much.  Though it's certainly more than I would be able to give at one time on my own. I've never done anything like this before, so I'm not sure what to expect.  The extent of my fundraising prowess is my sons jog-a-thon.  He raised the $100, all I did was provide phone numbers. The goal seems pretty reasonable to me.  I've worked out how much I need each person to donate in order to meet it.  Honestly I'll be happy with whatever amount I can donate in my Uncle Norm's name at the end of all of this. It just feels good to be running for a great cause.

I think of him often in my training.  Sometimes I feel as if his spirit is with me. One of the reasons I decided to do this race is simply because right now I can.  We never know what will happen to us in life.  For Norm his life rapidly changed once the disease took hold.  He became completely dependent on his family members.  In his life he was able to accomplish so many amazing things .  He was a terrific father and husband and an avid skydiver. He was also the director of research and development at Brewer Science.  Norm was involved in the Center for Applied Science and Engineering at Missouri State.  After he passed they named a research wing of the University in his honor. I know he would be proud of what I am doing, for seizing the opportunities that life presents.