Hope Next Exit Raffle - The Sequel

Hope Next Exit is back. Actually 'Hope Next Exit' never really left and is a mantra I try to live by as it pertains to fighting cancer. The Hope Next Exit Raffle is back. If you are not familiar with the birth of this Hope Next Exit picture on the left, it began late 2009 when my wife was diagnosed with cancer a second time. For those familiar with my entire story, please bare with me while I briefly share it for those that arrived to this post without the full story. I go through life assuming everyone knows my story because I have shared it so many times. Recently, however, I have been reminded on several occasions that the masses are not familiar with my story. By recent, I literally mean yesterday based on interaction with Michelle Jacobs (@BklynRunner on Twitter). We have chatted in passing on Twitter and share common Twitter friends so I assumed she was well aware of my losses. Yesterday, I was sad to see that Michelle's Mom, Ida Jacobs, was not doing so well. I reached out to see if I could help and we exchanged a lot of messages. Ultimately I learned that Michelle's Mom was deep in sleep and had been the entire day. This was a mirror image of my father's last day before passing. What our respective parents also shared was that they each had leukemia. Anyway, I offered what I could to help and I shared a very personal story and could only hope it helped. That really is why I share my story....hoping it helps someone in a similar circumstance or someone that has been through trying times and needs to know there is an amazing future beyond hardship. It usually does and that is one of the many blessings that comes out of the my experience. Unfortunately Ida passed away last night. My prayers are with Michelle and all of Ida's friends and family. Mom is now an angel...pain free and dancing. I will keep her and this story close to my heart as I push towards Ironman Wisconsin on September 11, 2011.

Back to the short but full version of my story. Over a 15 month period of time beginning late September 2002, my father was diagnosed with leukemia. While he was fighting, my wife Crea became pregnant with our first child together, Isabella Soleil Wilno. In August, 2003, Isabella passed straight from the warmth and comfort of being with Mom for nine months to God. She passed away at birth and shortly after, my Dad was told treatment would not help. I moved out to be with my parents until he passed which took place in January 2004. Shortly after, while pregnant again, my wife was diagnosed with cancer. We had the tough decision of fighting the cancer first or giving birth to our son Jaden first. We opted for the latter.......my son was born a healthy and fat child....two weeks later my wife was dealing with all the things that come with fighting cancer. She beat it. She is tough. Almost 5 years to the day later, we were back at the doctor thinking we were beyond this cancer forever. Instead, the doctor told us the cancer had returned. My wife beat the cancer a second time in early 2010. Along the journey we met with various surgeons and in one particular waiting room (which I like to call the 'Theater of Good News to Come), I saw the 'Hope Next Exit' picture above. It became our fighting words. After her successful second battle with cancer, we threw a party called Hope Next Exit and I launched the first raffle.

Almost a year has passed. I am now participating in my 11th Team in Training event, the Lavaman Olympic triathlon on April 3, 2011. It is one race on the road to Ironman Wisconsin in September. As I type this entry, I have raised approximately $13,000 for this race. I am in the running for Top 3 fundraisers. More importantly, life to date I have raised $93,000 and am $7,000 away from my lifetime goal of raising $100,000. None of this is about the glory or prizes or being a top fundraiser or even being acknowledged. For me it is about setting goals beyond my reach and chasing them down. It is about living up to the promises I made to my Dad and Isabella and my wife. It is about making sure cancer makes an exit in the near future. We need a cure. We must find a cure. That is why I am here and that is why I am launching

HOPE NEXT EXIT RAFFLE - THE SEQUEL

It is simple. I am selling 250 tickets for some cool prizes. You can see the list of prizes and some pictures of key prizes by clicking the HOPE NEXT RAFFLE PAGE. The details are at this page but in case you do not want to leave this site, here are the details:

1 ticket for $20, 3 tickets for $50

If you give an odd amount, I will give you tickets based on this formula (e.g. $70 = 4 tix)

I will do my best to cut off the raffle at 250 but it may go slightly over. I have mailed letters out about the raffle so I have no idea what money is in transit. My goal is to be as close to 250 as possible so your chances of winning are as advertised.

Prizes As of Now (retail value approximately $2,250)

HP MediaSmart Server EX495

Gateway Laptop - 15.6" Blu Ray, 4GB 500GB

Monster Beats by Dr. Dre headphones

Lexmark S815 Genesis All In One printer

HP Photosmart e-All-in-One printer

Punk Rock Racing Gear

Deacon Jones Autographed Football

Avatar 3 Disc DVD Set

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

$50 Starbucks Gift Card

You do not have to do anything other than click on the link in the top right of this page. It will take you to my Team in Training fundraising page. You donate and I will make sure to allocate tickets to you. I will create a separate blog entry tracking raffle ticket holders but as of now, we have sold 132 of the 250 tickets. Only 118 tickets are left!!! Current ticket holders are as follows (please let me know if I am missing you):

Zsolt Kiraly	1
Calvin Lin	3
Maura McCartan	2
Nick Gardner	6
Dena Grablowsky	3
Caryn fishler	1
Mark Kristof	7
Brian Ring	6
Christopher Rake	6
Abhay Kulkarni	6
Michael Miller	3
Josh Spector	6
Kristy Brown	1
Laura Maloney	6
Michael Miller	3
Christy Noel	1
Bethany Chaney	6
Ron Harvey	6
Eric Orvieto	3
Jenna Chastain	1
Eileen Wolpe	6
Sarah Hughes	1
Michel Holtz	1
Bryan Sloan	1
Scott Clausen	1
David Pittman	1
Elizabeth Ryan	1
Jennifer Zenuch	1
Douglas Sawyer	6
Lori Jomsky	6
Jennifer Conklin	1
K Melissa Galyon	2
Edward Schober	1
Rosalinda Batson	6
Fern Oliner	3
Nadim Bacchus	1
Penny Sprague	3
Christopher Hancock	2
Kristea Cancel	3
Brett DAvis	3
Jason Zacher	5

THANKS TO ALL FOR EVERYTHING OVER THE YEARS. I DID NOT RAISE $93,000 WITHOUT AMAZING SUPPORT. THANK YOU FOR HELPING TO PUSH ME TO THE FINISH LINE OF MY $100,000 GOAL AND FOR PUSHING THE WORLD TO THE FINISH LINE WHERE THE END OF CANCER IS CELEBRATED. I DO NOT DRINK. I WILL HAVE AN AMAZING GLASS OF RED WINE ON THAT DAY. MY DAD IMPORTED WINE. HE WOULD APPROVE.

A Big Victory - My SB Auction Journey

It will be big or it will be nothing.

These were the words I told my wife and emailed to Lori Jomsky when the crazy eBay idea entered my head. A lot has transpired since I exclaimed these words two weeks ago. Along the way, my already high faith in people soared, my already certain belief that cancer will be cured solidified and, although I had a moment of lapse when eBay pulled my auction, my belief that blessings come from trying times was confirmed.

Over the years I have raised over $80,000 to help fight cancer. On that journey, not too many creative juices were required. Out of the gate, the circumstanc

es of my story were so current that people openly pulled out their checkbook. Lose a father, lose a daughter, watch your wife fight cancer while pregnant with your son……………..that tends to tug at the heart strings. All I did was share my story as openly and honestly as I could. I have done that ever since in the attempt to end cancer……in the attempt to show people a way to their abilities………in an attempt to maybe help a struggling soul along the way. That coupled with increasing endurance race distances coupled with perhaps a Super Bowl Pool or raffle here and there lead me to where I am today.

Jump to January 15, 2011. I had just watched Green Bay destroy the Atlanta Falcons while I sat in the living room wearing the first ever Atlanta Falcons hat I owned. I grew up in Atlanta (and Florida which is why I also cheer for the Dolphins) but in 44 years never owned a hat. After the loss, I had a Sixth Sense type of moment where I realized earlier in the year I broke down and bought a Boise State Broncos hat to watch them lose and end their run at a National title. I also broke down and bought an Oregon Ducks hat to sit in my living room and watch them lose the National title to Auburn. Three h

ats bought…..three big losses. I also flashed to my life as an Atlanta Braves fan where they have made it to the playoffs many times but have only won the World Series once. That one time……..when they clinched the World Series with a victory over Cleveland………..I was at a wedding unable to watch. Bad Karma? I have never thought of myself as bad luck but these facts rang in my head so I came up with the idea to auction off this bad Karma to either Pittsburgh or Green Bay as a fundraiser to help fight cancer. I can deal with my Bad Karma. I cannot deal with watching any more suffering that cancer brings to this world.

I reached out to a friend Lori Jomsky (@lj3000 on Twitter) with the idea. She really didn’t know what to think but the beauty of Lori is that she would make it happen anyway. I didn’t know anything about eBay. I only had the idea. She didn’t know anything either but she reached out to a friend, Ray Montague (@zumadog on Twitter), and my silly idea was born.

It will be big or it will be nothing.

A few days after the launch of the auction, the Green Bay Gazette and the Pittsburgh Tribune reached out interested in the story. I wish I had a video of the shock that must have appeared on my face when news of this reached me. My silly idea was newsworthy. Next www.boringpittsburgh.com posted a great article on my story in the hopes that a Pittsburgh corporation would step in and make a difference. I loved that this article called out the city’s love of the Steelers and their love of charity. It almost made me want to root for Pittsburgh but then again, that could be a curse. News of my story made it to Chris Schauble (@ChrisNBCLA on Twitter) of NBC LA and, with no push from me, Chris presented my story to the station. Other than a high five at mile 26 of his 2010 Ironman Kona journey, Chris only knows me through Twitter but he jumped in to help. On Sunday, January 30^th, Fred Roggin shared my story in his sports report and a few days later another 30 second spot of my story aired on the 6pm NBC LA news.

Unfortunately, the same night as this last NBC story aired eBay, for whatever reason, pulled my auction citing it was inappropriate. Inappropriate? I am just trying to raise money to fight cancer. The money is not even going to me. I am not funding my kid’s education. I am not trying to go on a vacation. I am trying to save lives. What was newsworthy and a human interes

t story was not okay for the auction site. To say I was angry was an understatement. In a few hours, the Pittsburgh Tribune article would run and now the link would not work. The ability for this auction to raise big money was over……or was it. Lori and Ray worked launch a new auction site, http://r.ebay.com/4NL34C , and, as I’m typing this post on a morning flight home, I am certain folks are fighting to get the old link posted again. I went to bed upset but thank God I only had 2 hours to sleep before waking up to fly back to Los Angeles.

I woke up with a different perspective. I stepped back and noticed the results that were right in front of my face. What started as a silly little idea turned into something much more. It started with a friend that took the time to turn my concept into reality. It started with Twitter where folks that have never met me in real life made the effort to share my story. It started with a good man that doubles as a news anchor who cared enough to fight on my behalf. It started with some newspapers that thought a funny story combined with human interest was worth a read. It all lead to 1,000’s of people learning about my journey……..not just the auction but the events that lead to the auction. It led to further promises fulfilled to my Dad and my wife and Isabella. It led

to an amazing call from my two amazing kids screaming “Daddy, you were on tv!!!” which is a moment I will NEVER forget (thank you again Chris!). It led to more awareness of the battle going on to end cancer. I am confident it will lead to others joining the fight. I am confident it will lead to others realizing they can make a difference. I am confident someone on the couch yesterday might get off it today. I am confident a non-runner at the start of this week will take their first steps soon and run 26.2 miles one day in the future.

Thank you to all that made this happen this week. There are way too many of you to call out individually. You know who you are. Please know I am grateful. To NBC, and the Green Bay Gazette and BoringPittsburgh.com and the Pittsburgh Tribune……….thanks for your faith in me and my apologies for this eBay debacle.

It will be big or it will be nothing.

I do not need to monitor the auction. This is already BIG regardless of what transpires on eBay.

Note: in the last 5 minutes my story has made its way to the Yahoo home page, MSNBC a

nd Fox Sports. Amazing!!

As a side note, if my story has inspired you, you can donate above and use my bad karma however you wish!

UPDATE

It is 8:40pm on Saturday and I wanted to type a brief update to the above post. The last day of the auction was a blur. After I posted the above entry, my story started appearing everywhere. I was getting texts, emails and IM's. The first arrived alerting me I was on the Yahoo Home Page. At work, vendors and customers were seeing my story and sending me the link. From there I received calls from the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society headquarters asking if they could submit my story to The Today Show.......nah, I will hold out for better........of course, you can submit my story to The Today Show. From there, Fox Sports, MSNBC, MSN, NFL team websites all were running my story. It was pretty amazing. I did make the mistake of reading some of the comments at the posts.....there are certainly some people who think everyone in the world is a con artist that clearly doubted my story was true to which I reply: I certainly wish it were untrue. It would be nice to sit down and watch the Super Bowl with my Dad and Isabella but we move on and make the most out of our losses. I really think the Thursday press craziness stemmed from the Wednesday night airing on NBC coupled with the Thursday morning publication of my story in the Pittsburgh Tribune. That created a wildfire of press that will surely be a proud moment for as long as my mind is capable of remembering. For when my mind fails to remember......here are some links to a few articles: Fox Sports Yahoo MSNBC Business Insider Boring Pittsburgh

The last update is that the high bid closed Thursday night at $1,625. I woke up excited. To be honest, I hoped it would raise more and that a corporation like Heinz or Alcoa from Pittsburgh would see the article and step in to help. I was still however very happy and proceeded to reach out to the high bidder J Shepherd of Arkansas. He was non responsive despite even Ebay reaching out to him. On to bidder 2 and ultimately bidder 3. Nothing. Apparently people thought is was funny to bid with no intent to donate which truthfully is a little hurtful given the personal nature of my story. Ultimately, I have to choose to believe that if all of these bids were fake, ultimately this was a great human interest story but not a great fundraiser. On that note, I just want to apologize and thank all of the press that helped not only promote my story but promote Team in Training, The Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and the entire mission to #beatcancer. I am grateful again to the Green Bay Gazette, Boring Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Tribune, Lori Jomsky, Ray Montague, Michael Sally, Chris Schauble, specifically Karen at the Pitt Tribune for taking the time to get to know me and my story, all the sites that shared the press and all my real and Twitter friends for sharing in all the media excitement. I also want to thank David of @ebay who stepped in Thursday night to protect the auction from shutting down and for trying hard to get a bidder to contribute. It did not all work out at this moment in time financially for the cause but I am sure there are people that will join Team in Training or some fight against cancer because of seeing the article so, in the long term, Cancer is the loser here.

To close, I am going to be rooting for Green Bay and test out this whole Karma thing.......partially because the GB hat arrived first but largely due to the chance this whole Bad Karma thing is real. The Pittsburgh community embraced my story and I would hate for them to lose having me feel responsible. So.....we will see. Whoever wins......IT'S NOT MY FAULT....OR IS IT?

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.