Why I Run: A week of remembering the past...
This week, I had the opportunity to travel to Boston and DC. While there were definitely some fun moments with friends and family, there were two important things that took me to those cities: being a part of the final 2017 check ceremony, and visiting my Mom for the first time since her burial at Arlington National.
The trip to Boston started with the opportunity to get an 8-mile run in during a beautiful, 60ish degree day along the Charles River. Running across the bridges that connect Boston and Cambridge, with the full beauty of Fall in New England all around me, I flashed back to a variety of images and feelings from the marathon itself. Chief amongst them was coming down Commonwealth Avenue to Hereford, and making the left onto Boylston. Although a far different scene this time around -- just a typical working day in Boston -- I still see the endless rows of people cheering myself and all of the runners, particularly the charity runners, who in total raised over $30 million for various causes. I can't wait to come back in six months not only to finish again in front of that crowd, but with the knowledge of how much good I will have done on the fight vs. cancer.
After the run, it was time for the check ceremony. A small group of invited fundraisers were brought together with Dana-Farber leadership for the final reveal. I was figuring that the team -- over 500 members strong -- probably raised between $5.6 - $5.7 million for innovative basic cancer research. After a few brief comments from the board members, the tarp covering the check was pulled back and displayed our final team number -- $5,908,301.33. That's over $11,000 raised per team member, a phenomenal accomplishment. I couldn't have been more prouder of our team, which includes my sister Ashley, and everyone who helped support me along my 2017 journey.
In the coming posts, I'll talk about how that money is being used to understand cancer and all her varieties better -- and with better knowledge come better and more effective cures.
After the ceremony, it was back home, but not for long. It was time to pack up the family and head to a Columbus Day weekend trip to DC. It had been the first time I had been back to DC since December 2014, when we laid my Mom to rest. The trip was very much designed to be an enjoyment of all DC had to offer -- from the museums to the memorials to the architecture, DC had a lot to see. And my son, the constant ham, absolutely loved the experience, and took every opportunity to be in goofy photos along the way.
But by far the most emotional part of the trip for me was our trip to Arlington National Cemetery on Friday morning. For the vast majority of people on the grounds that day, they were full of good spirits and wonder as they looked upon our most revered. But as we entered the grounds and opened up the site map, it was solely to find section 31, where Margaret Theis Raven rests in eternal peace. The site, beautifully tucked away underneath a tree with a view of the Kennedy grave site up the hill, was tranquil. It was the first time my daughter Zoe, had ever got to "meet" her grandmom... and she didn't fully comprehend it to be honest (as we were leaving for the airport, Zoe told me "we're going to leave the hotel to go visit Gigi [her grandmother name]." One day she will understand). To my surprise, Asher was able to comprehend it pretty well, and he took a pause from his normal goofy self to tell Gigi how much he missed her. My own thoughts and feelings... those I will keep to myself, but I'll just say that I was very glad I had my sunglasses that day to cover my eyes, at least from the other visitors that day.
After a week of such wide ranging emotion, I came home on Sunday with renewed purpose and passion. Yes, cancer took my Mom, and I miss her every single day. But my trips last week strengthened my resolve of why I run. I run because I can bring good to her and to so many others simply by being a part of this Dana-Farber family, and helping raise funds to find cures that will save lives. I look forward to my journey in 2018 with these lessons from 2017 that I learned in mind...
The trip to Boston started with the opportunity to get an 8-mile run in during a beautiful, 60ish degree day along the Charles River. Running across the bridges that connect Boston and Cambridge, with the full beauty of Fall in New England all around me, I flashed back to a variety of images and feelings from the marathon itself. Chief amongst them was coming down Commonwealth Avenue to Hereford, and making the left onto Boylston. Although a far different scene this time around -- just a typical working day in Boston -- I still see the endless rows of people cheering myself and all of the runners, particularly the charity runners, who in total raised over $30 million for various causes. I can't wait to come back in six months not only to finish again in front of that crowd, but with the knowledge of how much good I will have done on the fight vs. cancer.
After the run, it was time for the check ceremony. A small group of invited fundraisers were brought together with Dana-Farber leadership for the final reveal. I was figuring that the team -- over 500 members strong -- probably raised between $5.6 - $5.7 million for innovative basic cancer research. After a few brief comments from the board members, the tarp covering the check was pulled back and displayed our final team number -- $5,908,301.33. That's over $11,000 raised per team member, a phenomenal accomplishment. I couldn't have been more prouder of our team, which includes my sister Ashley, and everyone who helped support me along my 2017 journey.
In the coming posts, I'll talk about how that money is being used to understand cancer and all her varieties better -- and with better knowledge come better and more effective cures.
After the ceremony, it was back home, but not for long. It was time to pack up the family and head to a Columbus Day weekend trip to DC. It had been the first time I had been back to DC since December 2014, when we laid my Mom to rest. The trip was very much designed to be an enjoyment of all DC had to offer -- from the museums to the memorials to the architecture, DC had a lot to see. And my son, the constant ham, absolutely loved the experience, and took every opportunity to be in goofy photos along the way.
But by far the most emotional part of the trip for me was our trip to Arlington National Cemetery on Friday morning. For the vast majority of people on the grounds that day, they were full of good spirits and wonder as they looked upon our most revered. But as we entered the grounds and opened up the site map, it was solely to find section 31, where Margaret Theis Raven rests in eternal peace. The site, beautifully tucked away underneath a tree with a view of the Kennedy grave site up the hill, was tranquil. It was the first time my daughter Zoe, had ever got to "meet" her grandmom... and she didn't fully comprehend it to be honest (as we were leaving for the airport, Zoe told me "we're going to leave the hotel to go visit Gigi [her grandmother name]." One day she will understand). To my surprise, Asher was able to comprehend it pretty well, and he took a pause from his normal goofy self to tell Gigi how much he missed her. My own thoughts and feelings... those I will keep to myself, but I'll just say that I was very glad I had my sunglasses that day to cover my eyes, at least from the other visitors that day. After a week of such wide ranging emotion, I came home on Sunday with renewed purpose and passion. Yes, cancer took my Mom, and I miss her every single day. But my trips last week strengthened my resolve of why I run. I run because I can bring good to her and to so many others simply by being a part of this Dana-Farber family, and helping raise funds to find cures that will save lives. I look forward to my journey in 2018 with these lessons from 2017 that I learned in mind...
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