Run for a Cause

Hi! This weekend I was thinking that it might be good to explain a little bit more about the race Dad and I are running on March 17.

Yep, we're running the Rock 'n' Roll Half Marathon in D.C.

Pretty. Crazy. Psyched.

This particular race was a seed I had planted in my dad's head around Christmas when we were running together and it was pretty up in the air when I would be seeing my parents again. We all got spoiled by the South Bend reunions that happened on an almost bi-weekly basis in the fall, and now we were hard-pressed for reasons to cut out of work early on a Friday to go eat food in a parking lot.

Fast forward to about a month ago, when Dad finally convinced himself that he would be able to run the race, and the I logged on to the website only to find out that this particular race was sold out. Yep. Sold. Out. And no, they weren't selling entries on Stub Hub.

My dad being the brilliant guy he is figured that there had to be another way for us to run this race. He did some searching and found an amazing team that is running on behalf of a charitable organization - the Organization for Autism Research.

I am now doubly excited about running this half marathon because I'm running for a reason outside of my own accomplishment. This race is providing me the opportunity to raise money for an awesome organization, run with a team, and to support research in an area where so much more research needs to be done. 

If you have ever been touched by Autism - either in your family, through friends, in the classroom, or simply through stories - please click the OAR button on the right side of the blog to donate to Organization for Autism Research through my page, and follow the link above to check out OAR's website for more information on their research and their mission. Any little bit helps!

Just to let you know that I'm keeping up my end of the bargain, I cranked out 9 miles yesterday which keeps me right on track to run 13.1 miles on March 17. 

My average pace was about ten second slower than last weekend's long run, but I'm still pretty happy with the run. Both Dad and I are shooting for a sub-2 hour finish time, which will also mean that we will both set PRs (Personal Records) for the Half Marathon! So far it looks like we're in pretty good shape to do it!