Bring it on!

Dear Friends, Well, it's here! On Sunday I'll be running the Fox Cities Marathon, and, frankly, I CAN'T WAIT! I can't wait to get out there and run. I can't wait to put one foot in front of the other, feel a little (okay, a LOT) tired, feel a little (okay, a LOT) sore, and work towards a great accomplishment...both personally and for such a wonderful group of people--the Children's Tumor Foundation.
www.1month100miles.com
Early next week I'm going to email you again and share with you two stories. First, I'll tell you how the marathon went. Then I'll get on to the important stuff. I want to tell you about Steve Kendra. I had the pleasure of meeting Steve at about mile 19 of the Las Vegas Marathon a couple years ago. I was running in honor of Brock, and Steve was running...the ENTIRE CTF.ORG Marathon Fundraising effort, which he continues to do today. He's the Director of the NF Endurance Team, the father of a daughter with NF, and also an athlete (He completed the RAAM last year). I'm already working on the letter about Steve and the inspiration he's provided me, so I'll save the rest of the details for early next week. Stay tuned!
As for the training regarding my fall events, things have been going well. I've run more miles in one week than I ever have, I've run more long runs (more than 20 miles) than I ever have, and I'm still injury-free! Woo Hoo! I'm not sure what to expect out of myself this weekend, but I'm hoping to run strong. Last weekend I was in St. Louis for one last training run--the Lewis & Clark Marathon--but it got cut from a marathon to a 10 mile "fun run" due to Tropical Storm Ike. I still found a way to enjoy myself...but I've never been that cold when running (not even in Wisconsin Winter!) I'm off to a great start fundraising, thanks to all of you! Please continue to spread the word about both my goals and the greater goals of Brock and I--two Plymouth Friends trying to do something special. I can't thank enough three specific businesses:

Sun Graphics: Terry and Mary Kay Evans, the owners of Sun Graphics in Plymouth, have been friends of mine since I coached their son, Mark, in Summer Basketball Leagues for Plymouth. They've always been willing to help our community and have jumped behind Brock and me as we try to accomplish something great this fall. I can't thank them enough for their support and encourage everyone to contact them and thank them for their support. Thanks again, Terry and Mary Kay!!

Run Away Shoes: Ross McDowell and I met completely randomly at a local running event, where I was a keynote speaker (speaking on behalf the the Children's Tumor Foundation) and he was a sponsor. It turns out Ross and my college roommate were high school classmates. Welcome to small town Wisconsin!Ross and Run Away Shoes have helped me with getting the right fit for my shoes and have helped support this fall's fundraising campaigns more than anyone can imagine. It takes a lot of "Gu" to get through the training runs, and he's been there to help. I also offer free beginner runner consultations to patients of mine, and several of them asked me for help for picking the "right" running shoe. I immediately suggested Ross and RunAway Shoes after knowing how helpful their staff was to me. All of my referrals came away very impressed with their help. The shoes I'm wearing right now (and the shoes that held up amazingly well in St. Louis) to run these events came at Ross' suggestion. Please keep him in mind if you're looking for a new pair of active shoes.

Icebreaker Marathon: I'm signed up for quite a unique event this winter. You see, I'm not going to stop running until we find a treatment or cure for NF, and the next event (after the 1 Month, 100 Miles) will be an INDOOR marathon this January. Chris (the Race Director) has been wonderful in helping to spread the word about my goals for this fall, and I want to tell all of you about a great and unique event this winter. A marathon sounds like insanity to a lot of people. Imagine if I told them I'll be running 94 laps of a track to complete a marathon! Check it out!

www.1month100miles.com

Again, none of this is possible without your support. Please continue to pass the word along about what Brock and I are trying to accomplish (a $10,000 donation to CTF). We'll talk again in a couple miles... Nic PS: I can't thank enough the support of two people: Brock, and my Dad. First of all, times make it tough to keep in long term contact with friends. Personal business, family, distance, and a bunch of other obstacles tend to plant themselves between you and the people you truly care about. None of those have stopped Brock from keeping in touch with me. Most of the time it's a text message of him complaining about the Brewers (and there's been a LOT of that lately!), but he always finds a way to keep in touch, and that's always appreciated. And then there's my dad. He's been to every marathon I've ever run, and he'll be there on Sunday. For examle, when I FINALLY qualified for the Boston Marathon this spring in Madison (final stretch photo here), he drove me home. I slept (photo here). Thanks again, Pops. www.1month100miles.com