Oklahoma was a great trip for me. The Route 66 Marathon in Tulsa marked my 20th race in my 15th state this year. Over a quarter of the journey completed and still going strong. The trip began with a 9 hour drive to St. Louis, and then an early (3:30am) trip to Tulsa to set up for Friday’s Health Expo.

Day one at the Expo was relatively slow, however the many people that I spoke with were very interested in our story and helping to find cures for Optic Nerve Disease. I met several individuals who had family and friends who they believed to also be affected by OND’s. While I am always saddened to see people affected by the loss of their sight, it is comforting to see more and more people understanding what people are going through and wanting to help out with the cause. After a LONG day one at the expo, I headed off to my CouchSurfing friends place for a much needed extra long sleep.

Day two of the Route 66 Health and Fitness Expo was much busier and gave me more opportunities to meet and greet with the thousands of runners who would be braving the streets of Tulsa for the Full Marathon, Half Marathon, 5k, and kids one mile fun run. I spent 8 hours talking to people non stop raising money and awareness. Not only were the runners great to me, but so to were all the vendors around me. I want to thank the ladies who fed me on Saturday to make sure I would have the energy survive the day and have the energy for the run Sunday.

After two long days, the race day was finally upon me. I was up early and arrived at the race an hour before the run. I felt good, and thanks to my host was ready to go. The weather was a big warm for a marathon, but the “breeze” seemed to cool things down a bit. Once on the course though, around the 10k mark, it was clear that today was not going to be the best of runs for me. After a week of being sick, 15 hours of driving, and two full days working at the health expo, my body just didn’t have the energy for this type of run. Because of the fact that there was an actual death during the event, I will not go into the details of my struggles throughout the run, because they are not relevant in the grand scheme of things. I will say that I managed to push through my pain and finished the race.

My goal was to complete a marathon on my 30th birthday, and I did. It was a great day for me, but a devastating one for the family of a young man, who after seeing a picture in the paper, looks like one of the many people I spoke with at the race. My thoughts and prayers go out to his family. We all forget sometimes just how precious life is, and on this day I am reminded that everyday is a gift and we should live it to the fullest and do what we love. That being said I will be spending this holiday season with family and friends, and will be back doing what I love … Running and helping fight for a good cause.

Check out pictures from this weeks race on our facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=45479&id=172123116132894&ref=mf

Mom survived the crowds of over 50 thousand people in Flint during the Crim Festival, made friends, and with their help managed to find me before I ran across the Finish Line. She has opened herself up to talking to strangers, OK not a HUGE change from her if you know my mom, but when it comes to talking about her condition and asking for donations, this was a big step. She even agreed to do a 5k race with me in our hometown of Waterford, Michigan.

October 6th was moms birthday, and also the month in which she lost sight in her first eye in ‘97 and her second in ‘98. Not only was this race a chance to celebrate us doing something special for her birthday, but it was also my opportunity to show her how much she has overcome throughout the years and how strong she continues to be.

We had to arrive at the race an hour before, so that I could set up a table and pass out info to the runners. Mom helped with the race organizers to pass out race packets to the runners and of course make some new friends. This being a race in our home community it was extra special to talk to people about what we are doing to help people with optic nerve disorders. I even met a high school girl who herself has a nerve disorder and was so happy to see someone doing something to help people like her.

The Run at the Farm 5k was a VERY challenging, hilly, cross country course at Hess Hathaway Park. There were at least 7 or 8 hills, several of which were pretty vertical. I had mom walking 3-4 miles 3 days a week, but had not been training her on any hills since I did not know the layout of the course. I was a little concerned after the first hill, especially when mom proclaimed that she may not be able to finish the course if this was just the FIRST of many hills. I managed to break the race down for her into intervals, encouraging her after each one and pushing her to the next hill. “Just one hill at a time,” I would proclaim to her. As I always tell her, time goals are great, but sometimes just completing the race is the ultimate accomplishment.

Needless to say, mom impressed me beyond belief as she powered up each hill, pushing herself beyond anything she has physically since she was an athlete in high school. We crossed the finish line at the same time with our hands in the air and mom was all smiles, excited to finish her first, but not last, 5k. My next run will be a marathon in Oklahoma for my birthday and I look forward to finding more races to get mom involved in as well.

Check out the pictures from “Mom’s Run” at our facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43854&id=172123116132894

After sitting at work and listening to people complain about the things they had to do and thinking about it further it finally hit me.  It’s not my moms fault my dad is in the hospital, and its not her fault she cant drive.  So even though I did not want to do this I begrudgingly agreed to play taxi driver.

While driving to the hospital, and still slightly annoyed with the drive, I got to thinking further.  Why am I annoyed?  Why does this bother me so much?  Were my laundry list of activities to complete so important that they couldn’t be put off another day?  It is after all my fault most of them have not been done already since I have a tendency to procrastinate lately.  This is family, and family is important to me.  Lately, I feel that I am being asked by my mom a lot to help her with things.  Is that what bothers me?  And finally it hit me when I looked over at my mom, who felt so bad for asking me this tiny favor that she sat beside me silent.  I cant even imagine ….

Can you imagine what it must be like to never be able to do the job that you loved and did for over 25 years?  Not that you retired, won the lotto, or just quit cause you got tired of it, but that you were no longer able to perform your job because of loss of sight.

Can you imagine what it would be like to never be able to drive because your lack of sight makes it impossible to focus, see objects clearly, or know when something is right next to you? 

Worst of all, can you imagine what it must be like to have to always ask for the help of others?  What it must feel like to always feel as if you are a burden on others and that you always feel as if all you can do is ask for help, when you are unable to return the favor?

I for one will be honest and say that I CANT imagine what it would be like.  But it does remind me WHY I started FiftyTwo4Mom, why I am doing what I am doing, and why it is so important to me to help fund research to help those who not only can imagine what it is like, but who have to live with it on a daily basis. 

I love you mom, and I am sorry I got so annoyed when you were just asking for a little help.  I promise to be more patient and understanding moving forward.  And I promise to keep up my asking others for help.  Even if it is just $1 at a time.  So PLEASE, If you have not yet donated, visit our donation page and join “My Road.”  Every dollar counts and can help us to make sure fewer people have to imagine how horrible a loss of sight can be.

Thank You

Flint was an amazing atmosphere for this race.  Unlike most of the places I visit I have personal knowledge of this city and after all of the struggles that Flint has gone through recently, the city really has embraced this run. The Crim was also playing host as the U.S. Men’s 10 Mile Road Championships, so there was some extra buzz around the run and attracted a record number of runners.  Luckily, with all the races I have done this year, I have become used to races of this size so being corralled with 16,000 other runners was no problem for me.  Mom was amazed at how many people can be packed together for a run and how it can take 15 minutes for some of the runners to even reach the starting line.  The weather for the start of the run was relatively cool for what I have been running in this month and the humidity was down.  Runners were released and as usual the first mile is the hardest.

The first mile of the run is spent trying to not get run over and weave through runners so that you can find a good race pace.  It is also hard to know your pace on the first mile unless you know when you cross the starting line because of the time delays.  The course ran through the city and was a very challenging course.  Seems to be my theme of late, to do courses with a lot of hills.  I remember at mile 5 seeing a sign that said “Congrats, its all DOWN hill from here!”  This must have been some cruel joke because it was by no means “down” hill from there.  My body held up well though in the heat and I was able to hold a pretty good pace for the run.  I carried my phone in my race pouch so that at mile 9 I could send mom a quick text so whe knew to look for me at the finish.  As I approached the final stretch I kept an eye out for her and right before crossing the finish could hear a voice saying “GO BRIAN!!” and there was my mom.  This was one of the best feelings knowing that my mom finally got to be a part of one of my runs. 

I found my mom when I finished going through the finishers corral and not surprisingly she had made several friends throughout the day.  I knew that she would find people to talk to while I was running and in true mom fashion she did.  She met several people during the race that she talked with and even got out word about FiftyTwo4Mom, which made me proud because I know it can be difficult for her to talk about. 

After we reconnected, we went to the after party and had some lunch and while I went around talking to the runners about FiftyTwo4Mom, I found mom was enjoying the music and even dancing.  Check out the FaceBook pictures (Week 14) for proof.  She cant see enough to drive, but that doesnt mean she cant still enjoy life and bust a move.  I will be taking this upcoming month off from traveling, but still plan on doing other activities for FiftyTwo4Mom.  I will post updates ASAP when I reach the next phase of races.  Any suggestions let me know … See photos at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43849&id=172123116132894

After getting a few hours of rest, the race was at 7:13am, which meant waking up around 5:30am, I headed out to the race course.  The course start was located near the University of Minnesota.  The morning felt nice enough, a little humid but relatively cool.  I decided I wanted to pace around 8:24 so I could run a sub 1:50.00 Half Marathon.  Prior to the race I met several really cool runners, one girl in line for the bathroom.  Gotta love the LONG bathroom lines lol.  The pacer for the 1:50 group, Jo, was a nice local runner who has done several of these runs.  Everything started off well until after the mile 3 marker when my lungs really started to struggle with the humidity.  Needless to say from that point forward my times got progressively slower, and I had to walk from time to time, mainly at the water stations, to make sure I stayed hydrated.  For as much as the race was a struggle physically, I was able to hold on and finish.  My time was kinda funny since this was my 13th race and a 13.1 mile run, I ran 2 hours 13 minutes and 13 seconds (2:13.13).  I guess I should have gone and played the lotto on the way home.

Post race, I spent a few hours walking around the post race party talking to other runners and handing out information on FiftyTwo4Mom.  Since the race finish and start were about 8 miles apart from each other (they shuttled us back), I was not able to collect donations from most people, but people seemed really interested in what I am doing and I hope to hear from people on here and facebook.  One more race under the belt and the journey continues.  Next week I get to stay home for the Crim 10 Mile. Visit our facebook page for pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43848&id=172123116132894

When I arrived in Pittsburgh, I meet with the race director for the Brookline Breeze 5k, Debbie.  She was very helpful and for the second race in a row, I was allowed to set up a booth to pass out information and collect donations from the runners and spectators.  There was a community festival going on along witht the race, so this added to the amount of people at the race site.  The runners and spectators were great and we raised a good amount of money and passed out a lot of information to people about our cause.  I am always happy when people buy the wristbands, because when they wear them it can only help us in spreading awareness about Optic Nerve Disorders. 

As for the race itself, the course was very challenging with the amount of hills in the first mile and a half of the race.  Right off the bat there was a quarter mile hill that took up a lot of energy in the heat.  While it was only 75 degrees (According to my cell), it was about 85 with the humidity.  The second half of the race wasn’t as bad with the hills and allowed for me to pass a few other runners.  Overall, the course was really nice, and ran through a great part of the city.  My time was one of my slower ones, 23:47, and I finished 135 overall out of 467 runners.  With the heat and the hills and my lack of race prep due to working more, I was pleased with the race and feel that I should have a good week to prep for next weeks half marathon.  Thank you to everyone at the race and in the city of Pittsburgh, up next Minneapolis, Minnesota.  Check out the week in pictures at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43847&id=172123116132894

Now for the race itself.  Well this was the first race for me in a few months, and while I have kept up on my running, I have not been race training.  And it was a very humid 77 degrees out for the race.  This was a night race, with the race start being 8:30 p.m., and it was dark out, which helped some, but it was still VERY humid.   I ran a bit fast in the first mile, and since I haven’t been race training, this really hit me hard and so I struggled for much of the next two miles.  I was able to pick it up on the final mile and at the end I found myself with way too much energy.  I was able to sprint past four people before slowing down as to NOT pass the kid who was in front of me at the finish line.   I will have to post my time when the results become official, but I believe I was around 32 minutes.  Not the best time, but thats not why I run.

At the Post Race awards the chamber again let me set up my table and sell more bracelets and collect donations.  This was a very successful weekend and I have to say that I will definitely be making a second trip to Waterford, WI in the future.  Pictures available at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43844&id=172123116132894

My trip to Ada, Ohio and the campus of Ohio Northern University was one of the hardest trips to date, and yet one of the most rewarding.  It was during my freshman year at ONU that I found out my mom lost sight in her second eye, rendering her completely blind for a period.  My time at Ohio Northern was highlighted by time on the Swim Team and Radio and TV stations.  All of which were relived as the event was covered by ONU Channel 3 and WONB 94.9 radio.  I also met up with one of the swimmers who was on the team with me back in ’98-’99.  It was not surprising that either of use could remember the other since I had only spent one year on the team as a diver, but it was still cool to see him at the race with his wife. 

Zeta Tau Alpha put on a great race, benefiting the Susan G. Komen foundation for breast cancer research and was gracious enough to let me pass out information and talk to people about my cause as well.  I met lots of great people at this race, who braved the wind and cold to come out and run.  It was great to run around ONU’s campus one more time and see all the changes that have occurred since I left campus over 11 years ago, and while I didn’t run the 5k very fast, I still enjoyed my race here.  I was also interviewed by the school paper for an article that should help to get our cause out to even more people. 

I am taking some time off to do some fundraising back in Michigan and begin to organize a few races for the cause, but will be looking forward to getting back on the road ASAP.  For more pictures on this weeks trip please check out: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43843&id=172123116132894

While out on the town, I found lots of great little restaurants and local businesses who were interested in helping out with the cause as well.  Thanks to Café Alma, Keller Williams Reality, Paddy Burke’s, and all the MSU Tampa Bay Alumni members for their support of FiftyTwo4Mom.  The week was a huge success, and during the Sweet 16 game at Wings Gone Wild, we raised over $300 from the raffle we did.  Not only did we get all the MSU alum to donate, but there were also many Ohio State and Tennessee alumni who purchased raffle tickets as well.  I was even able to connect with an old friend from Michigan, who recently moved to the Tampa area and was at the game.

My race was on Saturday, and it was a perfect morning to run.  The weather was great and even though it was an early race, with a 7am start, Ybor City looked like something out of a storybook.  The cobblestone streets and old brick buildings were a perfect setting for a run.  The “Race for Sight” was sponsored by the Lion’s Eye Foundation, and was a great fit with our cause.  The most inspiring part of the race was the group of kids, all with visual impairments, who ran in the race as well.  Their heart and determination was so uplifting and really puts into greater perspective what I am doing.  I wish that I could have had the opportunity to speak with each of them and to tell their story, however, because of their age I was not permitted to do so.  I had the most fun on this run, and ran well, 22:15, placing 34^th out of almost 300 runners.  I am glad that this was the largest “race for sight” to date and hope that this race continues to grow in years to come.  As for FiftyTwo4Mom it is off to Michigan to head up a few fundraisers then onto Ohio on April 17^th for another race.  This time I get to visit my first college, Ohio Northern University, in Ada.

To see more pictures from sunny Florida, visit our facebook page at: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43842&id=172123116132894