Running MCM for Friends4Michael Foundation

This October marks ten years since my first marathon, and I cannot think of a better way to celebrate that than by running my first Marine Corps Marathon in this city I call home. 

I have spent the fall and spring getting back to the fundamentals - racing cross country and track - and I believe I will be ready in October to take a fresh run at 26.2 miles and go under 2:30 again. (My training will focus on running 5:40 pace and finishing in the top 10.) 

But I have another, much-more-important goal - and that is to raise $1,000 for the Friends4Michael Foundation. 

This started, to be honest, by asking myself how I would gain entry into this sold-out race. My first thought - to be honest, again - was: "Who could I call? What back channels could I go through to get in?" 

But then I looked at the list of all the great charities that partner with the Marine Corps Marathon and I started thinking about everything differently. Running had given me so much. Here was such a great opportunity to re-channel all of that positive energy. 

The logo, "The Mighty Kwinn: Fight for the Cure!," reminded me of the Bob Dylan song. Then I started reading about what this was really about, which is the Friends4Michael Foundation and the story of Michael Kwinn.

 

As a runner, I get very results-oriented (see paragraph two). I am frequently guilty of losing the perspective of what running is really about, and how lucky I am to be able to do this. I want to be able to set high goals without losing that perspective. 

Michael was extraordinary. This is a kid who, after finding out he had a brain tumor, devoted the rest of his life to raising awareness about his disease, raising money for research, and helping people in any way he could. 

The other thing about Michael was, he never, ever quit. He never gave in. He never stopped putting up a fight. He accomplished so much in his 14 years. And now his spirit lives on through his family and his friends and through volunteers and runners - through Friends4Michael, which provides financial assistance to the families of children who have brain tumors and also raises money for research efforts. 

I am so honored to represent Friends4Michael in the Marine Corps Marathon. I just have one more goal I did not mention - and that is to put up a performance that would make Michael proud. 

You can contribute to my fundraising effort in two ways:

Fundraiser: On Tuesday, May 19, I will participate in D.C. Road Runners One-Hour Track Run. It is pretty simple: You run as far as you can. In an hour. In a circle.

I am asking friends to pledge to donate an amount - a quarter? 50 cents? a dollar? - for every lap I cover. My goal will be to run ~11 miles, or 44 laps. 

If you'd like to participate, email me at dickson.mercer@gmail.com and let me know what you would like to pitch in. Afterward I will report back to everyone with my result, and we can all make a really nice donation together.

I would love to get a lot of participation on this. 

That said, you can also Just Make a Donation by going to my Crowdrise page or by donating directly to the foundation.

Thank you for your support!