Middle Half is Here Again

Last year I ran the Murfreesboro Half Marathon for the second time. I beat my time from the first year by almost six minutes and my knees felt much better. In addition to all the numbers associated with miles, pace, quarter time, and place I was able to achieve something greater than putting one foot in front of another, for a little more than two hours. I raised over $1,000 for an organization called Special Kids. The group was formed in 1998 when a nurse, Carrie Goodwin, saw children with special needs being turned away from out-patient facilities because they could not afford the bills. Special Kids has gone on to serve more than 1,700 children and families. Through the generous donations of businesses and individuals they are able to provide skilled nursing, physical therapy, speech therapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, and equine-assisted therapy through a program called hoofbeats. Children from around Tennessee also participate in a summer camp called Camp Ability, that is sponsored by Special Kids.

Team A.S.K. (Athlethes for Special Kids) was started by an avid runner whose daughter was recieveing services through Special Kids. One day while running with a friend he talked to them about the services his daughter was recieveing and how the organization that was providing them was in danger of closing their doors. They shared their story with other runners and formed a team to help raise needed funds and complete the 2001 Country Music marathon. This was the first event and now Team A.S.K. participates in the Country Music Marathon/half marathon in April, the Middle Half Marathon in September, the Marine Corps Marathon/10K in October, and the Disney World marathon/half marathon in January. Team ASK also offers teams for the H.O.T. 100 bike ride in August in Murfreesboro, TN (31, 62 and 100 mile bike ride) and the Tullahoma, Tennessee Mach Tenn Triathlon in June. The team is very inspiring and continues to gain new members with each event.

Everything about my experience with Special Kids filled me with rush of emotions I never expected. I was afraid I hadn't put enough into my fundraising efforts. I sent out about fifty letters and self addressed stamped envelopes. I didn't have as much time as I wanted and intended to send a lot more. As a few of the envelopes came back I sat them aside, unopened, on a corner of my desk. A few weeks before the half marathon I got an email from the fundraising director for Special Kids. She was asking how I was doing with my fundraising and if there was anything she could do to help. A day latter while I was running between errands and meetings I stopped by the house to check the mail and get the envelopes off the corner of my desk. I sat in the driveway opening the envelopes and I started to get very emotional. Every envelope had a check written for an amount I never would have expected. The outpouring of support from my friends and family absolutely amazed me.

In addition to the donations there were hand written notes in several of the envelopes. My brother had died a few weeks early after a battle with diabetes. People had enclosed notes to express condolences for our family's loss and asked that their donations be given on my brothers behalf. I sat in my driveway and cried as I thought about how many people I knew who truly realize just how blessed their lives are. I had to compose myself and drive to the Special Kids office to drop off the donations. From that point on it didn't matter if I didn't get in all the training I wanted to or how far and how fast I ran. I knew that I had done what I set out to do.

One thing my brother and I had in common was our love for our sister. This may sound obvious to anyone with a close knit family, but for our family it means a lot more. Our sister Leslie was born with moderate mental retardation. I can't imagine growing up with out her. She is a social butterfly and puts so much joy in the life of anyone who meets her. She remembers names better than I do and is always excited to have a visitor. I know her excitement for life gave my brother strength that he couldn't have gotten anywhere else. Even when his health prevented him from attending some family functions and being as social as he would have liked, he always had time for Leslie. He was almost as excited to see her as she was to see him. I can't think of a better person to donate on behalf of than my brother Paul.

My sister has been very fortunate as our family has always been able to provide her the unique care she has needed. She is large part of the reason I find myself starting to train for the 3rd Annual Murfreesboro Half Marathon and pulling out my address book again to raise money for some truely Special Kids.