3. ...I will be running in my second marathon, the Gasparilla 2010 Marathon! As I said above, I had planned on doing the Breast Cancer marathon as my second marathon but when I found out this would be the final year Gasparilla would host a full marathon I absolutely HAD to run the Full. An added bonus is that the race is in B.o.B's back yard and we'll get to run it together!!! I had made a pact with myself that next year I would only run races that supported causes that were important to me and imagine my surprise and excitement when Danica over at ChicRunner posted about Operation Jack. After reading Sam & Jack's story I was stoked when I saw that one of the races Sam will be running will be the Gasparilla Marathon! Autism is another subject that is near and dear to my heart as I have not one, but two cousins affected by this. I left a comment to Danica thanking her for the info and moments later I had an email waiting in my inbox from Sam about Operation Jack and becoming a team member for Train 4 Autism. A few exchanges later and I was on board. I am so excited that I am able to make Gasparilla a run for a cause that is important to me and to meet Sam in person. I encourage you to take a moment and read his story and mission and then check out the schedule to see if he is running a marathon near you and JOIN A TEAM! 
Now I'd like you to meet my Birthday-Baby cousin, Ashley. At my request Ashley decided to make her entrance into the world on my 18
th birthday
waaaaay back in 1999. She was diagnosed with Autism shortly after she was a year old and with early intervention she has actually come a long way. She has almost caught up to her peers in school and there are hopes that she may be able to lead a fairly normal adult life with minimal assistance.
Next I'd like you to meet my beloved Rixy's little sister Dani. Dani was diagnosed at the age of 2 ½ with autism and as a result, her mom received “early start services”. Early start services due to budget cuts in California have recently been revoked for future families with special needs. Many children like Dani have benefited due to this program. Today she has verbal communication and social interaction. As of now she has graduated from a special ed setting to a main stream setting and is now in a “typical” kindergarten class.
**Per Rixy; "If you will please note, it wasn’t a very easy thing to do. It has taken my Mom a huge struggle (court cases, mis-diagnoses, the State appointing inexperienced care takers/shadows) but she was fortunate enough to have resources (moo-la) to fight on! for this to happen. Many families do not have this resource and rely on the state for help.**
Dani still has occupational therapy, speech and DIR/Floor time. (Which Rixy's Mom pays out of pocket for due to budget cuts.) Dani is a fighter and she has relationships with other children and has a sense of humor, which is a big deal for an autistic child.
Rixy's Mom & Dani were recently interviewed regarding the budget cuts, you can read the article HERE.
So now you know two very special reasons why I am running Gasparilla for Operation Jack / Train 4 Autism. It is an honor and a privilege to be apart of this cause and run alongside Sam in Tampa on Feb. 28th for Marathon #2 (Less than 12 weeks away!!!) I am in absolute awe of Sam and his passion and dedication to the cause, he's running 60 marathons next year people! Sixty Marathons! In one year!
Listen peeps, I know that things are tight right now, especially with Christmas right around the corner, but please consider making a donation to the cause. Forgo that Starbucks Mocha-latte-cappuccino-non-fat-whip-cream-lite-Frappucino-crack-in-a-cup and throw that $5 this way. I'll do anything... run in a rainstorm and not b*tch once from beginning to end, I'll run speedwork til my knee blows out if that's what it takes! What else do you want from me? Within reason I'll do it! Come on guys, it's for a great cause and it totally counts as my Christmas present!!! (Cuz I know ya'll have been searching endlessly trying to find me the perfect gift!)
Donate Here:
http://operationjack.kintera.org/redheadrunning
Together we can make this happen and together we can help raise awareness about Autism! Thanks ahead of time for any and all donations ya'll, it seriously means the world to me!
Have a fab-tastic weekend, rock those races and long runs and I'll catch ya'll on the flipside...
19 comments:
Running races that support a great cause is awesome!
Thank YOU for passing the info on again! I have two cousins with autism as well - this is a great cause and now, I'm off to check out the schedule of races!! xo
Marine Corp, DC 2010!!! Whooop! :) just a quick update. haha. I'm pumped!
You are one awesome chica and I am sure that you have found out that once you let people know you have family and freinds affected by autisim the stories start coming in.
I have two little second-cousins with different forms of autisim. And when I heard about Jack and that he was running Tahoe I was really excited! I am hoping to pace him or be an aide station when he does the tripple that weekend!
I will def spread the word about your fundraising - I know you can meet your goal (don't worry, I will toss my name in the hat when you get close!)
Have an awesome weekend!
donation in, great post and cause. And FYI, your gift (pt. 1) has been mailed. :) Have a great weekend!
I really think it's great that you are running for causes that you care about. That's one of the main reasons I race, too. :)
My little nephew has autism, but he is the most amazing little boy (and crazy artistic!!). I will donate to you in a bit, I promise...must make it through the holidays first.
Best of luck, Morgan!
Running for a cause is such a wonderful thing - especially when it hits close to home. Good for you! Good luck with your fundraising.
Aw, you are amazing for running for this cause--SUCH a good one. Wilson's brother has Asperger's Syndrome, so this is definitely a cause near and dear to our hearts. Hugs (and a donation) for you! I only wish I could afford to donate MORE. Someday . . . :)
You got my donation. Great cause and great job fighting for it!!
Awesome! You're doing a great thing. I voted for them on the Chase FB thing that you mentioned.
i'm still going to go to starbucks. love me some overpriced coffee. the dollar signs make it taste better, i swear. (really, starbucks tastes 10x better than gas station coffee, what's up with that)
anyway before you think i'm a meanie pants you will notice that not only am i sipping my starbucks but i donated as well thankyouverymuch.
a great cause, special education is always one of the first to get cut, and it only harms people who need it so desperately.
My oldest son has autism and I've been wanting to run for an autism charity but I've had a hard time finding an organization I believed in. There is a lot of controversy over what causes autism so I'd prefer to raise money for an organization that helps those dealing with autism cope day-to-day rather than trying to "cure" it.
Anyway, thanks for opening my eyes to Train 4 Autism. There seem to be a lot of worthy organizations listed and I'm thrilled to have an opportunity to look through them and find one that suits us.
And thanks for bringing a focus to autism. It is definitely a worthy cause.
so great you found a cause for this race. autisim is an excellent reason to raise money, my nephew has it as well. if you leave your donations open until january, i'll sure contribute then ;) good luck with the rest of training too!
My oldest son has many of the characteristics normally associated with Asperger's Syndrome... we have had him evaluated but they haven't been able to officially say that he has it, only that he may have a mild form of it. In any case, Autism and Asperger's is of personal interest to me.
I will look at the race schedule and skip on Egg Nog Lattes this week and give the money saved to your fund-raising. :)
Yay for Operation Jack!! I haven't raised nearly the $$ you have, but, every dollar counts, right?
You're kind of a fundraising queen. I'm kind of in awe of it. You're awesome. Obviously.
Good Luck with your training! I ran NYC with the Autism Speaks team and it was an amazing experience!
Thank you for doing this. I have a severely autistic son and it has been a long hard journey so far. He is nonverbal and will turn 8 in February. He is a delightful child but full of stress, poor baby. Thanks to you and people who take a cause and make it their own. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy!
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