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Thank you.
Thank you to all who helped push Jess over $10,000 in our fund raising efforts for the Autism Speaks Walk here in Boston. Due in part to your efforts, as a team we were able to raise nearly $30,000 in total.
As many of you know, I had promised that if Jess reached $10,000 raised by Walk Day, I would run my next marathon with Blue-dyed hair. My next planned marathon was the Sugarloaf Marathon. After reaching her goal, Jess asked when the marathon was going to take place, I told her May 2012.
Dead silence.
“What?” I asked her.
It’s too far away she would tell me. She followed that up with saying that she had not mentioned in her donation requests the “marathon” part of my offer.
That was kinda the point I thought.
Well, I guess they’re just gonna have to wait, I said.
Uh, no, was her reply. Diary readers were expecting to see a blue-haired Luau and they were expecting to see it soon.
I thought on that for a while, trying to come up with a solution. In the end, the only thing that seemed fair was to dye my hair now (the appointment has been made for next Thursday) and then dye it again in May for Sugarloaf. I told myself it wouldn’t be so bad because I would be a beacon of Autism Awareness for a good 2 – 3 months depending on how long I kept the dye jobs. It was like killing 1 Bird with 2 Stones.
***
BUT, something happened yesterday. I won’t go into detail about it except to say that I will be donning my Team Up with Autism Speaks singlet again much sooner than I expected. I will still run Sugarloaf in May – I believe it is my best shot in the Spring to re-qualify for Boston 2013. However, it appears as though I will be unexpectedly running the New York City Marathon again this year.
That’s right, I’ve got 30 days to train for New York. This year however will be different than last. Because I have not been in any kind of training mode for the last three months, I will be running for fun – no taking a shot at 3:15; no attempting a PR. This is gonna be “let’s take a picture with every friend I can find along the way”!
The added bonus is that my hair will still be blue on November 6th, which means I will be able to run Sugarloaf with my normal hair color (if I decide to ever go back to it – maybe I’ll choose to stay blue) – 2 Birds, 1 Stone.
Unfortunately, because of family commitments, my weekend will be different as well. I am going to slip into the City Saturday morning to pick up my number, and zip out to attend a family function that afternoon/evening, and then go back into the City that night. There won’t be time to have a drink and catch up or break bread with friends I would love to see.
So, I’ve got a request – if you are going to be in the City watching the marathon, please let me know where you think you’ll be. I’ll have my phone with me and will be live tweeting along the way (@luau). I would be thrilled to stop, have a sweaty hug and take a picture with you along the way. If you don’t Tweet, leave me a message on Facebook (Run Luau Run) or email me (runluaurun at gmail dot com).
Now, does anybody have a couch I could crash on that Saturday night?
You are a good dude, plain and simple! Have a blast running in this marathon, you deserve it!
Thanks Sheila. Looking forward to really soaking in the 5 boroughs…this marathon is gonna be fun!
You are just freaking awesome!! You’re going to look even more handsome with that blue hair! too bad i won’t be anywhere close to take a picture with you :)! have a great race!!
Thanks Magda! I will make sure to post pictures of the hair coloring process.
Ditto — rockstar — freaking awesome —- and gives me the chills to continue to get to know you virtually — how incredible and BIG your heart is….. thank you for being a pillar of charitable giving, a beacon in the running community and kicking some major pavement for those who need it — not just you. 🙂 And well —- I am glad that NO is not in your vocabulary. 🙂
Thanks Nancy – I’ve got to say that as I get to know you better, I can’t help but feel like you’re a Rockstar with a capital “R”.
Wow! Wow! Wow! So exciting. I wish I could zip up to the city for a picture and a sweaty hug. I was just there a few weeks ago. Love the Big Apple so much! Happy for you and I’ll just have to send lots of virtual wishes that day!!
Super jealous – wish I was running NYC this year. Have fun and thanks from my family and I (Autism x 2 )!
[…] one who took our last-minute challenge (that we would dye Luau’s hair Autism Awareness Blue if I could raise an additional $1,800 by the next morning) and shredded it with an eye-poppingly […]
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