Why I run for the DFMC

On October 3, 2008, I was accepted as a member of the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge Team which would allow me to run in the Boston Marathon. I knew that I would never be able to achieve a Boston Qualifying (B.Q.) time. So, I decided to become a charity runner. As I looked at all of the charities that raise money through participation in the Boston Marathon, I realized that there was only one that truly meant something to me on a personal level – the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge. Cancer has had a significant impact on my life starting with the loss of my paternal Grandmother to pancreatic cancer in 1974.

Run as I might…I could never outrun this disease and the affect it has had on my life through the loss of too many family and friends. When I read that the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC), in collaboration with the Boston Athletic Association (B.A.A.) would allow me to run the Boston Marathon by raising money for the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, I looked no further. The money I raised would enable scientists at the leading edge of discovery to achieve better cure rates and to enhance patients' quality of life. The reason it spoke to me so clearly is that I have always dreamed that one day we might find a cure to this dreaded disease. If that miracle were to happen, I would be able to live my life without the fear of losing loved ones to this disease again.

If you follow my blog you know that I originally decided to sign up for this year’s team to help my friend and breast cancer survivor, Helen Morey achieve her goal of finishing a marathon in less than five hours. But, in all actuality, I had another reason that I had not discussed with anyone at the time and that was to run for my friend Sam Rosenwald who at the time seemed to be winning his fight against cancer. Sam had been the largest donor to my run in 2009 and was a big supporter of my effort to raise money for Dana Farber. I wanted to run for him to honor his fight. Unfortunately Sam did not win his battle and succumbed to the disease on August 3, 2011. Here is his obituary that shows what a special person he was:

SAM ROSENWALD of Beverly Hills, California, passed away on August 3, 2011. Sam was a real estate investor and developer, a philanthropist, a loving son to his mother, Sonja Rosenwald, a loving husband to his wife, Gita Rosenwald, a loving father to his children, Daniel and Samantha, a loving brother and brother in law to Jeanie and David Finkelstein, and a trusted friend, colleague and mentor to countless members of his community. Sam was born in Los Angeles on December 16, 1953, and attended Yavneh Academy, Fairfax High School, UCLA, and Boston University, where he received an MBA with honors. His parents were Holocaust survivors who met after World War II, married in 1946, and emigrated to the U.S. in 1951. Sam had a long career in real estate. He was the director of real estate at Pic 'n Save and Office Depot, and a partner at Black Equities. Sam was very involved in a number of philanthropic activities. His achievements in the philanthropic arena include Chairman of the Real Estate and Construction Division of the Jewish Federation of Greater Los Angeles, member of the Board of Directors of the Federation and Co-Chair of its King David Society, Chair of the Allocations Committee of its Real Estate Principals Organization. Sam also served on the Board of Directors of Hillel at UCLA (and was the recipient of their "Honorable Mensch-ion" award this past June), and served on the Board of The 1939 Club (a Holocaust Survivors group). He was also actively involved with Sinai Temple, North County Chabad (Yorba Linda), AIPAC, Vista Del Mar, Beit T'Shuvah, and many other organizations. Sam was a mensch among menschen, and an example and mentor to countless friends, family members, business and philanthropic associates, colleagues and strangers. He was beloved by all who met him, and touched the lives of more people than one could imagine, all of whom will miss him and cherish his memory.

Sadly, I am running to honor Sam’s memory rather than his fight. As you can see he believed in raising money for causes that were dear to his heart. What better way to honor his memory that to raise money for a cause that means so much to me. Sam’s wife, Gita send me a note after I wrote to here to express my sorrow at losing such a special person. In here not she sent me two things. The first speaks to Sam’s philanthropic legacy and the other a beautiful poem.

A random act of kindness elicits no reciprocity; selfless, compassionate, spontaneous.

In honor of Sam Rosenwald, please practice these acts as extensions of his philanthropic lifestyle.

I give you this one thought to keep –

I am with you still – I do not sleep.

I am a thousand winds that blow,

I am the diamond glints on snow,

I am the sunlight on ripened grain,

I am the gentle autumn rain.

When you awaken in the morning hush,

I am the swift, uplifting rush

of quiet birds in circled flight.

I am the soft stars that shine at night.

Do not think of me as gone –

I am with you still – in each new dawn.

(Native American Prayer)

Beautiful words that provide comfort that we never truly lose those we love. Now I have never been a believer in angels, ghosts or other supernatural things. But, I can remember when I was running Boston in April 2009 feeling the love and support of those people’s whose names I carried with me that day lighten my load and help me to reach my goal. I know that this Boston Sam will be with me all 26.2 miles and help me finish strong. I will be calling on him to help Helen as she runs towards her P.R. goal in this year’s race. Here’s to those we have lost and to those who fight on.

“Perhaps they are not stars, but rather openings in heaven where the love of our lost ones pours through and shines down upon us to let us know they are happy.” (Old Eskimo Proverb)

Sept. 30 – 7.10 miles (1:05:15, 9:12 pace)
Oct. 1 – 6.20 miles (56:09, 9:03 pace)
Oct. 2 – 10.30 miles (1:34:33, 9:12 pace)
Oct. 3 – 6.10 miles (55:53, 9:10 pace)
Oct. 4 – 5.10 miles (43:14, 8:28 pace)
Oct. 6 – 5.20 miles (46:45, 9:10 pace)
Oct. 7 – 4.10 miles (37:32, 9:00 pace)
Oct. 9 – 13.30 miles (1:54:52, 8:38 pace) – B.A.A. Half Marathon
Oct. 11 – 3.10 miles (28:02, 9:03 pace)
Oct. 13 – 3.30 miles (29:23, 8:54 pace)
Oct. 14 – 5.10 miles (44:42, 8:46 pace)
Oct. 15 – 6.10 miles (52:56, 8:41 pace)
Oct. 16 – 6.00 miles (53:45, 8:58 pace)
Oct. 17 – 6.10 miles (56:16, 9:14 pace)
Oct. 18 – 4.00 miles (36:21, 9:05 pace)
Oct. 19 – 6.10 miles (53:04, 8:42 pace)
Oct. 20 – 5.10 miles (46:28, 9:07 pace)
Oct. 21 – 6.10 miles (54:06, 8:52 pace)
Oct. 22 – 7.40 miles (1:04:26, 8:43 pace)

Total Miles: 115.8 miles
2011 YTD Miles: 1,329.3 miles

Try Something New

Each year many of us make New Year’s resolutions. Some vow to exercise more, lose weight, eat better, find a new job, be a better husband or wife, take a trip, etc. I admit that I have made many of these types of resolutions in the past. Sometimes I have been successful in adhering to them and sometimes not. But, whether I was successful or not, I always looked back and realized that I was thankful for each challenge, because it allowed me to build both my strength and character. I am not saying that I have great strength or character. I am simply saying that when I take on something new, challenging or something that may be outside of my innate abilities, I grow as a person both physically and mentally.

This year I decided to take on two new challenges both of which I have never attempted before. I am very nervous about my ability to succeed in both of these challenges. It would be very easy for me to be so intimidated by imagining all the worst-case scenarios that I wouldn’t even attempt them. As I have aged, I realized that life without new experiences is dull and boring. I also know that I don’t want to live a dull and boring life. So, I have been committed to challenging my comfort zone regularly in ways that are both challenging and, yes, intimidating. As I have taken on each challenge, I have learned something new about myself and have really enjoyed the resulting benefits.

The first of my two new challenges this year is taking on the role of Director of the Westborough Players Club’s Youth Musical which will go up in front of an audience on November 18, 19 and 20th. The Youth Musical is for kids from the age of 8-15 and is a way for our club to teach kids interested in theater about the process of putting on a full length musical by having them participate in a full production. My role as the director is to come up with the overall look of the show from the blocking, dance numbers (I thankfully have a choreographer), sets, lighting, etc. I have been in shows as an actor in the past and I have designed and built sets. I have just never been the overall director. I have never been the person that everyone looks to for, well, direction. It is a daunting task.

I spent over a month going over the script to come up with the blocking and where I wanted dances versus simple movement to music. I consulted with the costumers on the costumes I wanted the kids to wear. I got approval for the set design and have started putting it together. I went through the auditions process with my music director and choreographer. We cast 24 kids in the show. Now that rehearsals have started I have to say that I am so happy to have put in the prep time. It has helped my nerves and hopefully will result in a good production that the audience will enjoy. I am finding that the skills for planning and prep I have learned through my training for marathons have helped me realize that this challenge will help me to grow my skills and knowledge of what it takes to put on a musical. But, more importantly, it will help me believe I can accomplish anything if I put in the proper preparation and planning needed to succeed.

The second and more frightening challenge is helping a fellow runner achieve her goal of completing a marathon in less than 5 hours. My friend and fellow runner Helen Morey asked me last year if I would sign up for the Dana Farber Marathon Challenge (DFMC) in 2012 and help her complete the 116th Boston Marathon in less than 5 hours. Without thinking I agreed. I was accepted as a member of the DFMC Team and now am facing the challenge of helping Helen get ready for marathon and give her the proper training and coaching to help her shave over 1 hour off her best marathon finish.

As I think about the training program I am going craft for Helen, I realized that as her coach I will need to be fully committed to the job. I have the patience and love for running that will hopefully enable me to impart words of wisdom and motivation when she needs them. I know that for Helen to succeed, she is going to have to go through some very tough mental and physical training days. Knowing Helen these past 3 years, I have faith that her strong personality will be the key to keep her from quitting when the going gets tough. This coupled with our common sense of humor should help to make the training program fun. I want to make sure that Helen has fun during her training. But, I still am nervous about the challenge as I do not want to fail my friend.

As you can see, I am definitely getting out of my comfort zone over the next few months. I will be pushing my limits both physically and mentally. Hopefully, in the end this will make me stronger in both aspects of my life. There is that little bit of doubt that I am going to be able to succeed in both of these endeavors. Despite that doubt, I am ready to take them on and know that I will put in the time and effort needed to succeed. Even if for some reason neither challenge turns out the way I planned them, I will be satisfied in knowing that I gave it my all. The good news is that the kids in the show are working really hard and Helen is anything but a quitter. This makes me believe that in the end they will all make me proud to have been a part of the process that enabled them to succeed.

“Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you, they're supposed to help you discover who you are.”

Bernice Johnson Reagon

Sept. 29 – 6.20 miles (58:51, 9:30 pace)
Sept. 13 – 3.20 miles (25:12, 7:53 pace) – Speed Work
Sept. 14 – 8.10 miles (1:09:36, 8:26 pace) – Tempo Run, Manhattan, KS
Sept. 16 – 6.20 miles (57:06, 9:13 pace)
Sept. 17 – 10.10 miles (1:30:01, 8:55 pace)
Sept. 18 – 10.10 miles (1:30:13, 8:56 pace)
Sept. 19 – 6.10 miles (57:57, 9:30 pace)
Sept. 20 – 3.20 miles (25:27, 7:57 pace) – Speed Work
Sept. 21 – 8.10 miles (1:09:14, 8:33 pace) – Tempo Run, Orlando, FL
Sept. 24 – 6.20 miles (Unknown) – Hike to the top of Mt. Monadnock, NH
Sept. 25 – 8.20 miles (1:14:29, 9:05 pace)

Total Miles: 75.7 miles
2011 YTD Miles: 1,213.5 miles