Another Beat Cancer Showdown - Hope Next Exit Raffle, the Sequel

Here we are again. I guess more importantly, here I am again asking for help. Truthfully, I am just the voice of the world, the voice of children watching their parents fight cancer, the voice of a husband or wife watching their loved one undergo chemotherapy, the voice of parents begging to trade places with their baby that saw cancer knock on the door of childhood. Over the past 7 years I have shared my story with people hoping it would help ease some pain, hoping people would see that there is a world of blessing beyond the trying times and hoping to teach there is an ability in all of us to accomplish the impossible……..an ability in all of us to change the world. I have been blessed to witness this countless times. I have seen people change. I have seen the world change.

If you somehow made it to this page without knowing my story, you can read the first entry of this blog. The short version is that in a brief period of time my Dad was diagnosed with leukemia, my daughter Isabella passed away and my wife was diagnosed with cancer. My Dad lost his battle. My wife won hers for 5 years and then cancer made a return visit. My wife is tough though. She went to her second cage match with cancer and was once again the victor. These facts are only part of the story. They are the first chapters of a much longer book that has a joyous ending. If you know me in real life or through this blog or through twitter, you know I don’t choose to focus on the sad facts but instead the blessings that came from my story. Several of those blessings are what brought me to ask you for help yet again. When my Dad’s disease was declared terminal, I decided I would run a marathon to honor his battle. As his son and best friend, I couldn’t just sit back and watch him die. The decision to run a marathon led me to Team in Training and a promise to my father to fight back against the disease that took him from me. It was an easy choice really. He would have done the same for me.

I honored that promise. I crossed my first marathon finish line in December 2004. I will remember that finish line forever. I immediately found my wife, Crea, fell into her embrace in tears and told her that was the hardest thing I had ever done. Other than holding my daughter Isabella in my arms, it truly was the hardest thing I had ever done. Not simply for the pain the marathon wall can bring but because Race Day is my time with my Dad and Isabella. I spend those miles thinking about them and talking to them. It sounds weird I know but I like to think they share each race with me and are at each of my finish lines. Race Day is our check in time. I let myself go to them, reflect on my life…..make sure I am living the life that makes them proud.

When I signed up for Team in Training, it was for one event. That one event changed my life and it helped me to see I can help others change their lives. I went on to mentor and ultimately coach for Team in Training changing my life even further. Seeing hundreds of people cross their first finish line…seeing them raise literally millions of dollars…….seeing them develop a tremendous confidence level about their ability to have an impact…….all quite a blessing.

Seven years have passed. I have raised almost $80,000 in that time span. I have a goal. It is $100,000. I am not sure if 2011 is the year I hit that goal but I certainly can try. I am going to participate in Ironman Wisconsin on September 11, 2011. I am not worried about my time. I am in it for the journey and another long day with my Dad and Isabella….another day to honor the battles won and lost…….another day that brings us closer to a cure for cancer. This Ironman is not an official Team in Training event so I will use other TNT races along the training path to Ironman. The first one of the year, my 11^th event as a TNT participant, is Lavaman Triathlon in April 2011. I need your help. The world needs your help. Cancer has taken a break from my family but it continues to impact lives on a daily basis. With that I come to you to help fund more stories of hope. I want the rest of the world to see their wives, their children, their Moms, their Dads, their loved ones beat cancer. I want future generations to have to read about cancer in the history books. I want to win this battle. I have set a goal for this race of $10,000. To help get me there, I am launching the second Hope Next Exit raffle. Thanks to Jeff Webb, @wsearunner on Twitter, we will have a web page showing off the prizes soon (please send Jeff’s family your prayers as leukemia has just touched his father). For now, I will give you the basics.

One (1) Raffle Ticket = $20

Three (3) Raffle Tickets = $50

I will only sell 250 tickets so you have a 1 in 250 chance of winning something

Current Prizes

HP Media Smart Server

Gateway 4GB Notebook

Monster Beats Headphones

Punk Rock Racing Gear

HP Photosmart Printer (with eprint technology)

Lexmark All in One Printer

Avatar 3 Disc DVD set

DVD-CD set: Date Night + Glee Rocky Horror Picture Show

More to come but these retail for over $1,500 already

To participate, all you have to do is donate at my Team in Training fundraising site. There is a link to that site at the top right of this page. In case the link is not working, you can simply go to http://pages.teamintraining.org/los/lavatri11/beatcancer . You do not have to do anything special…..just donate through the normal process. I will issue you a raffle ticket(s) and will list all raffle ticket holders as an entry on this blog so you know you are accounted for.

To jump start the raffle, we are going to kick it off on Sunday, January 9^th at the Walt Disney World marathon…….day 2 of the Goofy Challenge. If you are unfamiliar with this challenge, it is comprised of a half marathon on Saturday followed by a full marathon on Sunday. I signed up for this event a year ago and had aspirations of testing my limits and pushing hard. Last month, however, I was diagnosed with a stress fracture that will prevent me from running. I am not one to easily bow out of races though so I am going to participate and I will do a lot of walking which will make for a tough 2 days. It will be a big battle for me not to run but I will try to think of the bigger picture…….I am coaching Team in Training Summer Season 2011 which starts in a few weeks and I do have that Ironman I do not want to jeopardize. So……..I will walk. On Sunday my amazing friend Emily Conlon, @goingforgoofy on Twitter, will walk with me for which I am grateful. She is throwing her race to hang with me and it means a lot. Together we hope to get this raffle going by selling one ticket per mile which would mean $520 to beat cancer. If you need further incentive, we will be taking requests to earn your donation. Personally, I think you should ask Emily to kiss a stranger, tackle Pluto, freak dance with Goofy……….something interesting. Either way, if you are near a computer on Sunday, we will Tweet our journey (I am @run2savelives), take your requests and hope that we reach our goal. Either way, I am grateful to you all for reading this blog and for your support. I have recently spent a lot of time reflecting on how I was ever able to raise $80,000. Certainly a good story helped but I could not have accomplished this without tremendous support from family and friends…both the real and virtual kind. Time and time again, I ask for help. Time and time again, you all step up and join me in the fight. $100,000 raised to fight cancer will warrant a hell of a party. More importantly, I want to be at the party we have after they announce that next miracle drug and even better, a cure for cancer.

Thank you,

Your Friend in the Fight Against Cancer

The Best Day Ever

This will be my shortest post ever and my first that has nothing to do with running. It really came out of nowhere which is the mark of a special moment. I think it started this morning. I was looking at quotes as I always do.....trying to find one that I think might make an impact on people. Instead, I found a poem that had an impact on me.

If tears could build a stairway,

And memories a lane,

I'd walk right up to Heaven

And bring you home again.

-Author Unknown

In case you made it here without the back story......I lost my Dad to leukemia and while he was fighting I lost my daughter Isabella. In between and years after, my wife was diagnosed with cancer two times.....twice she was the victor. Anyway, this poem brought me to Isabella. I have been thinking of her a lot recently. Don't get me wrong, there is not a day that goes by without me thinking of my Dad but lately it is Isabella that has been on my mind. I think it is all the Holiday shopping. It is seeing all the kids, mine included, so excited for the holidays. It is spending hours in the Disney store and the Sanrio store and looking at pink outfits for my amazing 2 year old daughter Thalia. All good times that happen to remind me there is something missing.....one laugh that cannot be heard.

Move forward a few hours.....my wife, Crea, and I take the entire family to see Tangled. With a 2 and a 6 year old........9 out of 10 movies we watch involve cartoon characters. There is one scene in the movie showing Rapunzel's father on the night of her birthday with a tear streaming down his face as he missed his daughter that had been taken. Again, this scene took me to Isabella. Just a hint of sadness for me. Just a reminder that one seat was empty.

Jump forward one hour. It has been raining in Los Angeles for a few days now. It is supposed to rain for another few days. One week of rain in LA is unheard of. I live for these times because one of my favorite things to do is run in the rain. One problem........I have a stress fracture. No running for me so this opportunity is passing me by and it will probably be another 10 years before it rains 7 straight days. On the way home from the movie I decided that while I could not run, there was nothing stopping me from going for a walk and stomping in a few puddles. I got home, put on some shorts and sandals and was ready to go. Before heading out, I decided to see if my son, Jaden, wanted to join me. He seemed a little unsure which lead me to believe he really needed to go for a walk in the rain. He has missed the joy of jumping in a big puddle having spent his entire 6 year life in Southern California. Off we go.

Jaden seems very timid at first. He is all bundled up in a rain jacket......I am dressed to get soaked. I make sure to let him know this is truly one of my favorite things and that I am happy to have him join me. "Why do you like it so much Dad" Jaden asks.

Good question.

I never really stopped to put a lot of thought to why I liked it so much but the answer came fairly easy. I like it because I feel at one with the world. I like it because I feel closer to God. I like it because everyday there are rules to follow and boundaries put upon us but there are no rules when you run in the rain. Instead of avoiding obstacles, a run in the rain is all about heading straight for the biggest puddle. No umbrella to shield you. Just bring it on and get as wet as you can.

I doubt at six, he understood what I was saying but I know the smallest moments can make a lasting impression. I hope somewhere down the road it all makes sense. For now, to solidify the message, I pointed to an enormous puddle and told him to jump in. He looked at me thinking it must be some trick. I assured him it was not. There would be no time out. There would be no penalty for getting wet. The shoes will dry and so will you. Jump in my friend and you will know what I am talking about. Jump in is exactly what he did and his laughter could be heard for blocks. It was amazing. We spent another 45 minutes out in the rain. I took him to all the places I knew the water built up into nice big tide pools. We were not on the sidewalk. We were in the street. People were looking at us funny......maybe they were looking at me thinking I am some horrible parent but I could care less. We were kicking water on each other and having a blast. A block from our house, a new park opened........I thought it might be a good idea to play in the park in the rain. It was only us. It was dark. It was open. We were among the first to experience the park and it was incredible. We did everything there was to do.......note: slides are insanely fast when new and wet. We went down many times.....so fast that there was no landing on the feet. There was only landing on our back side but there was no pain, only laughter. After a while there, we headed home in a new direction to see if there were bigger and better puddles to conquer. On the way, we came to one of the few trees near my house that was actually losing its leaves. I taught my son about how amazing it is back east when all the leaves change color and how amazing it is to build an enormous pile of leaves and dive in. This tree had dumped so many on the ground that I was able to grab a large pile and toss them in my son's face. Again, nothing but laughter......and retaliation. We had a leaf fight for a few minutes and then continued home. He

asked why there were not more leaves on the ground all the time. I told him that the gardener's come and pick them up to keep the sidewalks clean. His response was priceless:

"When I grow up I want to be a gardener's boss and when I am, I will fire all of them so the kids can play in the leaves"

I think he was getting the point of our journey. In our last few minutes in the rain Jaden stopped me to ask if he could tell me something. "Sure thing buddy!". What he wanted to tell me was that this was "the best day ever!!!" which are words every parent wants to hear. Anyway, we made it home. Out of nowhere came this special moment with my son that seemed to bring my day full circle to the quote I posted on Twitter this morning:

"The pain passes, but the beauty remains" Pierre-Auguste Renoir.

Yes I wish I could play in the rain with Isabella. One day I will. Today, the beauty of this moment will remain.

I Am Thankful For.....

I just finished a 4.5 mile run on Thanksgiving Day. I did not wear a watch. I just ran and thought about some of the things I am thankful for. Some random thoughts from my run:

I am thankful:

-for my job

-for amazing parents that taught me to be the person I am today

-for my amazing cancer free wife

-for my amazing 3 kids who light up every day

-for my Dad who taught me through his action the benefit of giving everything you have to something

-for my Mom was able to make it to California and spend some good time with her grandkids for Thanksgiving

-for Twitter where I have met incredible people....funny ones, charitable ones, amazing Dads, amazing Moms, amazing athletes, new athletes, life changers, etc, etc.

-for my fellow Team in Training, ACS DetermiNation and Livestrong peeps that fight cancer every day. There are a long list of people fighting cancer that are not associated with this groups. I am thankful for everyone.

-for people like @operationjack that test the limits of who they are to show their children how much they care and make a difference for others

-for Texas, for while it is full of rednecks, I have come to know a lot of people from there and I must say they are remarkable.

-for crepes and bacon

-for, through my Dad's passing, being introduced to running again.

-for the fact that running led me to a life where I am in a position to help people change their lives and make a difference.

-for all the military risking their lives so that I can wake up and go for a run without fear.

-for @sarahstanley for I know someday I will get a sushi dinner

-for the love and support shown to my Team in Training efforts by friends, family and a ton of people that don't even know me in real life

-for NipGuards for I am a sensitive guy.

It was only 4 miles......those were some of my thoughts. Right now I am thankful for the sound of Thalia waking behind me and the smell of bacon and pancake batter coming from downstairs so I better go take a shower.

Happy Thanksgiving to all. I hope the Turkey Trots are safe, fast and/or fun and that this day is filled with some amazing memories for all of you

Cancer Is Losing the Battle

November 6th was the day my wife, Crea, would run her first marathon at the Santa Barbara International Marathon. This was a big day for my family. The story that lead me back to running and to Team in Training and to charity and to endurance sports is long but for this day, it was all tied to Crea battling cancer twice...............and on both occasions winning the battle. Marathon Day is always a big day but this one held some special meaning. I had

built Crea's training plan.....she stuck to it perfectly. It was not designed for a BQ. It was designed to keep Crea healthy and get her across the finish line. Crea had trained on her own and, consistent with what I preach, she wanted to run the first 15-20 miles on her own so I was going to run about that far.....stop.....and wait for my wife. The plan was set, the day arrived but quickly things unraveled. My 2 year old was very sick......so sick we decided that I would not start this race but instead take Thalia to the ER. The 3 of us hopped in the car and headed to the finish line of the race where I would drop Crea off to be bussed to the start of this point to point race. After this drop off, I was fairly sure I would not only miss the start of the race but also the finish. The fact that Thalia was so ill, combined with a mess of closed roads and the fact that I had spent the entire week barely able to walk did not bode well for me physically being any part of this race. To say I was sad would be a tremendous understatement but our baby needed one of us and Crea needed to do this race. After dropping off Crea, the rest of the day was a lesson for me......of things I need to learn, reminders of things I had learned and since forgotten and an exclamation point on why I do what I do. The topics are simple but the day was profound.

For the lessons to make sense I will give some quick bullets as to how the day went from the time I dropped of Crea.

• I took Thalia to Cottage Hospital. We walked right in and were in a room within minutes. Thalia was not feeling well at all and she clung to me like I was her favorite security blanket. While the circumstances were not pretty......as a Dad, I have learned to savor every moment that my kids want nothing more than to be with me.
• While sitting at the hospital, Crea and I kept talking before she dropped of her gear, and thus her phone. For whatever reason, the start time got pushed back two times. Instead of starting at 6:30 am, the gun did not fire until 7:00 am. This 30 minutes would come to be a blessing.
• I had sent a text to Crea's Dad that I was not in the race but was instead at the hospital with Thalia. It was very early in the morning but he showed up at Cottage to see that Thalia was okay.
• After a few hours and some x-rays of Thalia's lungs, we were given the okay to leave. Thalia's colorful personality was starting to shine through and I could tell she was feeling a little better. Two days from now it would all get worse and Thalia would be diagnosed with pneumonia but for now, things were okay.
• We went down the street to Crea's Dad's house. Thalia was happy to see her grandparents and was doing well. I could tell she was very tired from being up all night so I laid her down and rubbed her head until she fell asleep. This did not take long and I was encouraged that she was breathing okay so I went to hang out with Chuck, Crea's Dad.
• Chuck and I hung out for a while and had some good conversation. At around 9am, I began thinking I might have a shot at getting to the finish line. A quick reminder here.....I could barely walk all week from an ankle injury I have been unable to figure out.
• At 9:30am, Thalia is still asleep, Chuck and Wendy offer to keep watching her, so I get dressed to give my ankle an attempt at a run. That attempt was short lived. A few steps in and I knew any run would hurt. A few steps in and I knew this test didn't matter..... I was going to run to the finish line anyway...about 4.5 miles away.
• I begin my run and I am noticeably limping. I push through the pain as best as possible. As I often do while running, I talk to Isabella and my Dad (in case you dont know my story, both passed away. Isabella is my daughter) and ask them to go find Crea on the course and keep her safe and strong. In addition to getting to Crea, for whatever reason, I ask Isabella for a favor...to put in a good word and find some way to heal my ankle enough to allow me to keep running......just get me to Crea.
• Shortly after this talk with my angel companions, I am running completely pain free. Not limited pain......pain free!! I would not experience any ankle pain the rest of this day. I am keeping a 7:30-7:45 pace and I get to the finish line in no time. I decide to start running the course backwards hoping to get to mile 20 before Crea. Backwards entailed a lot of uphill but I kept my pace. I was so happy to be running knowing I was headed to see my wife.....something a few hours prior I didn't think would be possible. I got to mile 20. I started walking toward 19 but only made it a few minutes because there was Crea waving her arms so that I would see her. I had made it.......right were I had hoped to find her. I was 10.5 miles in. 6.2 to go and my wife would cross the finish line.
• We worked our way to the finish line. At mile 23, Tiana, my oldest daughter, was waiting for us. She stayed with us for almost a mile and then we were off on our own. Crea was hurting but kept pushing forward. She does not have the best knees for running but she is very very strong willed and capable of pushing through pain. It was not until mile 25.5 or so that I knew exactly how much Crea was hurting. We were on a steep downhill.....death for bad knees. Crea started to cry and hyperventilate. For this to happen meant big pain. I knew a lot of the tears were tied to the pain but I also felt part of it had to do with the journey that makes the marathon so meaningful. From week 1 of a training program at Team in Training, I begin to preach about the journey. It is this journey that makes race day so meaningful.....all the memories of the path that lead you to the start line. For my wife, this path was the loss of our daughter and two battles with cancer.
• Just before mile 26 and we make it to Coby, Crea's brother. It was very cool for him to come down and cheer in his sister. I had been texting him at each mile marker so he would know we were making progress. I know his big smile of pride helped bring Crea home.
• Mile 26 and we are on the track at Santa Barbara City College. The school where Crea had started her post high school education would end this day. An amazing day. To this very minute, I do not know Crea's time. To this very minute, I do not care.

That is the day. Now to the lessons:

Go With The Flow

I am certainly capable of being spontaneous..........like in college when I would spontaneously end up at a club instead of studying for a midterm.......but for big events, I can get thrown off when things dont go according to plan. Today would teach me differently. The day certainly did not start as planned but ended up being more than I could have ever scripted. November 6th could have solely consisted of the marathon which would have been amazing. Instead it included some quality time with both of my girls, Crea and Thalia. I was able to be a good Dad and take care of my baby while still being able to be with my wife for the last 6.2 miles of her marathon. I was able to hang out with Crea's Dad........someone who actually means a lot to me....and her entire family. If you go back and read the post for Isabella's Day and read the speech I gave at her Memorial Service, I talk of family and realizing through hardship that Crea's family was my own. For whatever reason over the years to follow I let that realization go blurry but today helped bring it back into focus. After my Dad passed away, Chuck stepped in and was like a father to me. I vow to never lose sight of this again and am grateful for the reminder. I mentioned at mile 23 getting to spend some time with Tiana. She is my oldest daughter (19)....technically my step daughter....but we have been together since she was 5. I try to live life without regrets but if I were to allow myself one, it would be to go back to when she was 5 and be a better Dad. I went from a bachelor living alone in a 3 bedroom condo to having a child and I had no idea what I was doing. Over the years, we have not been as close as I would like due to many circumstances but I do Love her very much. To share a mile with her today meant more to me than she probably knows. I guess if you really get in and dissect this day, it is support for my biggest belief......that blessings come from every situation. There was a very long build up to this day. It did not start out so well but so many amazing things resulted from the turn of events.

Time Does Not Always Matter

I said it above but will repeat it here. I have no idea what the clock read when Crea crossed the finish line. I have not gone back to see what the time was. I do not know what the stats were....where she ranked among females and in her age group. There are times when these details are important.....there are times when they are not. Today was about overcoming a lot of obstacles. Today was about winning because you were able to toe the start line. A wise man, Colin Cooley (@runwicked) always says he cares more about the story than the time. Today's story read, Crea Wilno Beats Cancer Twice and Returns To Show That 26.2 Miles Are No Match For Her. (Please don't get me wrong here.....Crea did great. She is a great athlete and if she decides to run another race and time is important, she will crush it!)

Cancer is Losing the Battle

Cancer knocked on my Dad's door. Cancer won that battle. While winning the battle, it dragged me into the war. That was a big mistake on the part of cancer.....one I am sure it regrets. Along the way, Cancer has won many other battles and, in doing so, has brought a lot of people like me into the battle to end the horrible disease.

Cancer knocked on my wife's door twice. Twice! Two cage matches between my wife and the disease who should not be named (yes I am a Harry Potter fan). Crea's current record is 2-0. During the tenure of her battles, I have raised $80,000 in the fight against cancer. I have been on teams with Team in Training.......as a participant, mentor or coach that have collectively raised millions. Other organizations like the American Cancer Society's DetermiNation are seeing similar results.......people raising a lot of money in an all out war and race to find a cure. Watching my wife out on the streets of Santa Barbara wearing a huge smile reminded me that cancer is losing it's grip. It is losing the battle. We are closer to a cure today than we were 10 years ago. Gleevac was the last miracle drug.........what will the next one be. It is out there. Do you hear it coming cancer? Be scared. You will go down and I will be there to join in the celebration when you have gasped your last breath.

Thanks for reading. I am incapable of being short winded. If you would like to join me in the battle against cancer by making a donation, there is a link to my fundraising site at the top of this page. If you would prefer to help in other ways, you can sign up for Team in Training. If you live in So Cal you can come spend 18 weeks being coached by me for the Summer 2011 season. I have also mentioned ACS DetermiNation.....another great organization. If you want more information on them you can reach out to David Pittman (@DP_Turtle) on Twitter. Thanks again for your time!!

Running for a Cause

This will be a quick post primarily because the message is communicated very clearly in the email I will include below. For those that know me, you are aware I am a Team in Training marathon coach, you are aware I am passionate about finding a cure for cancer (which stems from the fact it took my father, attacked my wife and runs rampant through the lives of my friends) and you are aware of my belief that the journey to completing a marathon can change your life. I also have been known, on many occasions, to communicate my belief that blessings come from even the worst of times. Yesterday, an email from a past TNT participant and dear friend arrived that served as a reminder and confirmation that all of these beliefs are with merit.
Why am I posting this email? After reading it and sharing a quick tear of sadness and pride, I realized this email might make a difference to those out there contemplating whether or not they should sign up for Team in Training or, for that matter any training program that is attached to a worthy cause. I was drafted to Team in Training because leukemia attacked my father but there are some incredible organizations out there doing amazing things to fight cancer, aids, hunger, MS, Autism and Crohn's disease to name a few (many amazing people participate in these other organizations...ACS DetermiNation, Operation Jack, etc.). Running a marathon certainly will change your life. Running a marathon and completing it for others will forever change you........will make you a stronger person all the while making a difference in the lives of others and changing the world. I always tell my participants they are affecting the lives of people they will never come to know and they are pushing cancer towards the history books where our kids or our kid's kids will not know such horrible diseases but instead will have to turn to page 287 and read about them. To be a part of that effort all the while teaching yourself to push past fears, push past doubts and teach yourself what you are capable of........ it is an amazing journey. If you are thinking about signing up for Team in Training or any other organization but are afraid of the commitment, I would say that is exactly why you SHOULD sign up. Exercise some faith and I promise you will be rewarded beyond your wildest expectations.....my personal guarantee. Here is the email (please know I was given the permission to share this but I have taken out the names):

Hi Coach,
Just wanted to touch base with you... been a while since Cool Breeze. Hope you, Crea and the kids are well.

I was supposed to be going to the Nike Women's Half Marathon this coming weekend, but I won't be able to attend in the end. Also, I am off Facebook, it was too public and complicated for my crazy life, so I am writing you here.

Since January, D has been fighting a recurring ear infection. Ten days ago we found out it wasn't an ear infection. He was leaking cerebral spinal fluid through his eustachean tube and it was wreaking havoc and becoming an antibiotic resistant infection. Monday he underwent a second major surgery at UCLA. I am the one taking care of him, and I've spent the past three days at the hospital. When I'm not there, I'm home, taking care of S.

Every day I wear my TNT jacket. I don't even know why. It's not blood cancer. It's not even cancer. But it makes me feel strong, it reminds me of what I can (and did) accomplish. It reminds me who I am.

And today, when I was leaving the hospital and I walked out into the sun, I thought of you and the other coaches and mentors and teammates I've met in the past two years and how grateful I am that you were the one who was there that night at the library in West Hollywood. Because you shared a little of yourself that night, I knew I wanted to be a part of what you were doing. And it has made all the difference in my life.

So I just wanted to touch base with you, tell you what's going on, and thank you. You were right. It changed my life. And even now, when my head has doubts, my heart jumps in and sets me on the right path. And I smile and thank you. Even now.

Much love to you and your precious family, as always, E

Martin Luther King said "Faith is taking the first step even when you dont see the whole staircase". Take that first step. You won't regret it.

A quick comment to my fellow coaches, mentors and volunteers. When you tell others about your organization, speak from the heart. This friend of mine, despite a very personal story, came to an information meeting unsure of whether she would sign up. Because I spoke about the program at a very personal level, she joined our team and went on to raise over $100,000 for one race. In total she has raised $147,000 to date. We changed her life. She changed mine.

Road to Ironman Wisconsin 2011 Begins

It is a few days since I signed up for Ironman Wisconsin and my head has been swimming with thoughts about the journey ahead. I have known since I crossed the finish line at Ironman Florida in 2008 that I wanted to compete in another event. I tried very hard to keep that desire buried deep inside because I had made a promise to my wife that my next Ironman would only come once she was retired (this promise only tied to the toll it puts on the family). I had made this promise once before..... after completing my first Ironman in 2006 but she granted me a pass so that I could be with my friends in Florida. This time, I needed to make the promise stick. I tried, I really tried.

Since 2008, I have stood on the sidelines of Ironman. I have been a proud spectator and watched many friends complete amazing journey's to complete 140.6 miles. I was lucky

enough to be in Kona in 2009 to watch my friend, Kyle Garlett (2nd from the left in the photo at right), attempt to complete an Ironman after fending off cancer 4 times and dealing with all the scars those battles left behind.....one of them a weakened heart that ultimately led to a heart transplant. Kyle was unsuccessful in 2009 but is back for 2010 and I am so excited to head back to Kona (with Crea) and be witness to what I am certain will be a successful 2nd attempt.

I was proud to be at IM CDA 2010 where my good friend Emily Conlon (@goingforgoofy) was completing her first IM journey. I had many other friends also competing in this race and was also able to meet some amazing new friends that prior to CDA I had only known in the virtual world (@NYCE, @punkrockrunner and @goSonja). At this event, I witnessed some incredible performances. Emily had an amazing race which saw her carry a huge smile start to finish. I saw Eissa have a rough start due to the very cold water but go on to finish strong. I saw Ron Harvey take full advantage of the Ironman finisher's chute and I saw Sonja qualify for Kona. I saw many friends on the course......most crossing the finish line........a few did not but, in time, another day will come that will see them successfully finish the journey.

While being a spectator was certainly rewarding, deep down I was longing to be in the race. The true intensity of this desire has struck me at times over the past year and a half but never as much as on Monday, September 13th. This was the day the star

s aligned to allow me to sign up for my third Ironman journey......the day after Ironman Wisconsin 2010 wascompleted....12:00pm local race site time which would be 10:00 am here in Los Angeles. I was at home. I had just spent time dropping off my son Jaden for his first day of First Grade. I knew time was of the essence when the clock struck 10am so I didn't even want to risk losing my wireless connection. I set up my computer in the kids room at the kids desk so I could connect with a LAN line. Crea was actually in the other room on her computer and we both kept refreshing the registration screen for the race. In the past the registration page has loaded early so I started this process about 15 minutes before the site was supposed to go live. This time registration would not begin early. It went live at exactly 10am. I immediately started entering my information. Things were going smoothly....albeit slowly.....until I got to the page to make my payment. The page flashed a 'gateway timeout' error and I could not get back in. Instead of being an officially registered athlete, I found myself back at the beginning of the process. I was never able to get in over the next 45 minutes. I cannot believe I kept trying but I was exchanging texts with my friend and fellow TNT coach, Pete Brzycki, and it seemed like everyone was still trying. After seeing messages that Registration Was Closed, I gave up. It is in this hour of trying to get into IM Wisconsin that I learned how much I needed to do another Ironman. The sadness I felt each time my attempt to get to the registration page failed was overwhelming. By the time I gave up, I was deflated. I felt like something was missing. I tried to focus on the fact that Pete told me only 4 of the 30 of us trying to get in was successful. I had to have hope that something went wrong here and, as it turns out, that was the case. Around the time I pulled into the office at work, Pete called me to tell me the Ironman.com site had posted a message that due to technical difficulties, the registration process was shut down. I literally wanted to scream. Hope was alive which seems appropriate as I write this statement here at the HOPE NEXT EXIT blog. My chance to register would come again. It came two days later. My first attempt failed at the exact same place......at the payment page. Instead of getting a technical error, the page just loaded blank. My coworker was there shielding my office from disturbances. He told me to calm down and hit refresh. GENIUS. That is what I did and the page came back. My next attempt was successful and soon thereafter I was printing my waivers and receipt. I was 12 months away from competing in another Ironman.

It is now Saturday. I have been excited all week. I reached out to my coach, Coach Gareth. I pulled out all of my training books....some from the past....some newly purchased.....Going Long, Training Plans for Multisport Athletes, Start to Finish, Strength Training for Triathletes. The funny thing is I do not have any time to read any of them. What I did make some time for was to open the book Running on Faith by Jason Lester. I had just met Jason at Triathlon Lab in Redondo Beach this past Monday. He has won the ESPY for Best Male Athlete with a Disability. He was hit by car when he was twelve which rendered his right arm paralyzed. He has an amazing story.....went on to compete in High School Sports, complete an Ironman, and even an Ultraman which entails a 6.2 mile swim, 261.4 mile bike and 52.4 mile run. Completing any of these races would be amazing for any person. Completing them without the use of your right arm is inspiring. Hell, toeing the start line of an Ultraman is inspiring to me.......doing it knowing you are jumping in the ocean for a 6 mile swim without the use of your right arm is unfathomable. Sitting beside my bed was his book...the one he signed to me inscribed with the phrase 'Never Stop'. I picked up the book to take a look and began to read the Foreward written by Dean Karnazes. It was a tribute to the inspiration Jason Lester is but a few pages in I found the words that I think were buried in me for the past 1.5 years....the reason I needed to be in this race. The following is an excerpt from Dean Karnazes' foreward:

In this book, Jason talks a lot about something else that I understand very well: the shared warrior connection that extreme endurance athletes have with one another. Jason has said that Ironman and Ultraman have become his family, which might not make sense to someone who sees us trying to bury one another on the course in each race. It's true that there's competition, but there's also tremendous camaraderie between the athletes. When we're all together for an event, we're among like-minded people who share the same core values. Most important, each of us knows what the others have sacrificed and how hard they've worked. Passion, in these circles, is universal.

This shared disregard for limitations and stubborn unwillingness to allow anything to stand in the way of dreams creates a unique bond and special kinship among all athletes, able-bodied and challenged. It doesn't matter if you see one another only once a year at an event, or only read about your comrades' exploits in the magazines. They become your family, because you can relate firsthand to the toils they face and the struggles they must endure to cross the finish line. Respect is earned and deep mutual admiration garnered, no matter how fiercely you might compete out on the race course. They are your fellow warriors, your blood (and sweat and tears) brothers and sisters.

These words struck me hard. I not only read them. I felt them. This passage explains why I love Ironman. At my first Ironman when the 100 degree heat saw me finish hours after my training would have predicted, I was with the group of people struggling. Cramps set in. I kept falling down as a result. Dehydration was so bad that I was having trouble hearing. I lost 16 pounds at this race.....I do not have 16 pounds to lose. Everyone around me was having a bad day too and we all bonded together to try and push each other to the finish line. If I mustered a little run, I yelled at everyone to come with me. If I passed someone, I told them to stare at my back and join me for the ride (I still do this in every race today). This passage to me also describes why the Ironman finish line is one of the most spectacular finish lines in the world.....one that everyone must experience......not necessarily at 8 hours and 30 minutes of the race when the

pro's cross (although that is amazing). I am talking 11pm with one hour to go before the official finisher cutoff. Do you think the pro's are off in bed? Do you think the crowds have disappeared? Absolutely not. The pro's are at the finish line cheering for everyone coming in, the music is blaring and the crowds are cheering louder than ever trying to bring every athlete home (there is a short video of the finish line in Kona in 2009 at the bottom of this post). It is amazing. There is such respect for the journey. There is such respect for everyone that completes the 140.6 miles regardless of the finishing time. I would also add that there is a tremendous amount of respect for those that fall short of the 17 hour time limit. The Ironman is a tough race and every day will not prove successful for even the most amazing of athletes.

It is all of this that has me wanting to compete again. It has nothing to so with completing 140.6 miles with a new PR. I really could care less. For me, with working 55-80 hours a week, with all the charity work I do for the amazing organization Team in Training and most importantly with an amazing wife and some amazing kids, my training is squeezed in where it will fit. Don't get me wrong, I train....what i do NOT do is sleep. My midweek trainer rides take place at 4:30am. My midweek runs take place at 11:30pm. My swims take place as the gym is closing (for my first IM, my swims took place at 2:00am at 24 Hour Fitness with drunk dudes racing on noodles. I eventually got tired of the large wafts of hair floating in the pool so I upgraded gyms). For my long rides, I sit at my garage waiting for the sun to rise just enough so that I can enter the streets of LA safely (well, more safely) and I am generally done while most are just getting underway. My long runs take place in the early Sunday hours before I head to coach TNT practice. I am not complaining. It is my journey and that is how it must be completed so that that the rest of the important parts of my life are disturbed as little as possible. If I trained during normal hours and was able to get more rest, I am sure my time would be much improved but, for me, I would lose too much elsewhere. For me, the journey has been and will be the experience. Crossing the finish line......which certainly will happen in Wisconsin on September 11, 2011......for me it is just the icing on one amazing cake.

A big thanks to my wife Crea for understanding my need to compete and for all the sacrifices she will make over the next 12 months leading up to the Ironman. Without her, IM Wisconsin would not be possible. Without her, I am sure it would not even mean as much.

Hope Next Exit Raffle: Final Thanks and Winners

OK. It takes me a long time to make progress but I am finally at the post to announce all of the winners in one place. A week ago at the Cooley s'moree all of the winners were drawn out of a basket. I posted the winning #'s on Twitter but never really looked back to see the actual names of the winners. Emily Conlon (@goingforgoofy) was kind enough to look everything up and share the winners via Twitter but since she announced herself the grand prize winner.....I figured I better double check. As it turns out, she is an honest soul and a lucky soul for she did win the Gateway notebook. Below are all of the winners. I will be reaching out to everyone to get you your prize shortly but feel free to contact me as well via Facebook (Christopher Wilno) or Twitter (@run2savelives) or via email at tntcoachchris@yahoo.com.

Before I list the winners, I wanted to thank everyone one last time. I am humbled by everyone's generosity that allowed me to sell all 250 tickets in a short period of time. After raising $70,000 to fight cancer over the last 6 years, I felt it would be tough to reach out for help one more time so I came up with the idea of this raffle. I bought some of the prizes and some folks really stepped up with key donations and the concept became reality. It only became a viable cancer fighting tool, though, when you all stepped up to buy tickets. Even more humbling is the news I have already shared......many of the tickets were purchased by either a)folks that have never met me outside of the virtual world b)folks that knew me in the virtual world but had only come to meet me in person in the prior few months or c)folks that did not know the live or virtual me (theoretically these two are the same). This statistic really blows my mind. Whether you knew me or not, the kindness and support you all showed to this raffle and, as such, to my family and I is greatly appreciated. My story is personal so every penny donated through me is personal. Thanks again. Congrats to all the winners!

1)Gateway Notebook - Emily Conlon

2)HP Media Smart Server - Kristen Brenner

3)Monster Miles Davis Tribute Headphones - Dave Blaszkowski

4)Acer Netbook - Lauren Franck (the only prize I have distributed thus far)

5)Kodak ZX1 Pocket Video Cam - Allison Burbage

6)Creative Vodo HD Pocket Video Cam - Melissa Borek

7)Deacon Jones Autographed Football - Ron (Punk Rock) Harvey

8)$75 Target Gift Card - Marie Schneider (is there a Target in France?)

9)$50 Starbucks Gift Card - Sonja Wieck

10)Call of Duty 4 Inessa Vitko

Special thanks to Jeff Webb for building the Raffle web page that allowed me to show you all the cool prizes!!