the audacity to lope

I’m not running, but YOU can still donate

Copied below is a letter I wrote to my sponsors for the DFMC this year. While their donations were intended to “sponsor” my run, the real recipient of the money is the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and the fight against cancer. It doesn’t really matter that I’m not running the marathon, although I’d give anything to be able to do it this Monday. Instead, I’m rehabilitating my ankle and aiming for another marathon next October…

————————————————————————————————————————- As you may already know, a stress fracture in my ankle has forced me to withdraw from the 2010 Marathon and defer my entry to 2011. At the time I was sidelined I had logged over 360 total training miles, culminating in my longest run of 15.5 miles on February 13th. I can’t point to a specific cause of the injury aside from bad luck and an accumulation of wear and tear. This marathon business is rough, but most people can tolerate it if they train correctly. I was feeling great and was ahead of schedule - both on my training and fundraising efforts.

Unfortunately, my body broke down. Today marks the first full day I’ve walked without an immobilizer boot since mid-February. I’m feeling better, but the injury is not yet completely healed. My hope is that I’ll be running again by May, which leads me to my new goal for “earning” your sponsorship dollars: the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC on October 31, 2010. I’ve trained through the coldest parts of winter, and now I’ll be training through the hottest parts of the summer.

I want to thank you again for your generous donation as well as your support over the past months. With your help, I’ve raised over $5,000 for this amazing cause. I will not be running the Marathon on Monday, but your donations will still make a difference in the lives of current and future cancer patients. If all goes well for me, I’ll be joining the DFMC team again next year with my eyes on the 2011 Boston Marathon. The war against cancer will continue, and I’ll be doing my part to fight this terrible disease. Thank you for joining me.

Sincerely,
Mark Loranger