Have you ever had an idea that you just couldn’t shake? That was the beginning of the Resolution Challenge. Well, not exactly, I should back up. First, I am the mother to two amazingly awesome, beautiful, clever, gentle-hearted, kind-spirited children, one of which just so happens to be autistic. Second, I am a runner. Off and on since 2007, but mostly off until the end of 2012 when I decided to register for my first marathon. Ever since then running has been a part of my life almost on a daily basis. I’ve always admired those who combine their passions to benefit the greater good, but I guess I never gave much thought to how I could do such a thing. Enter my BFF, Crystal. She is my networking guru and she connected me to a man named Sam Felsenfeld who also has a child with autism, is a runner, and has already done amazing things with those two passions. Feel free to check out some of the things he’s accomplished here:
http://www.operationjack.org/marathon/?page_id=42
So Sam ran all these marathons (61 in one year!) and kinda sorta wanted to do it again but in a different way. He’s recruiting 52 runners (one for each weekend of the year) to run a marathon as part of Operation Jack 2.0. In a nutshell, these marathon recruits raise money for an autism charity of their choice and the foundation he founded will cover the recruits’ marathon registrations. For more on that, check here:
http://www.operationjack.org/?page_id=2014
Great! I can totally do that! I could even just donate my own money…. but I think I could accomplish more. So one day while out on a run (naturally) I thought, “Why don’t I organize my own event to raise money and awareness?” I immediately thought that it would be too much, that it would be too hard, and tried to push the idea aside. But then all these funny “coincidences” kept happening, connections to people in similar situations revealed, rekindled friendships with people in position to help, even just the right song on the radio at the perfect moment. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. It felt like things were being lined up and all I had to do was connect the dots.
So that leads me to the present and the creation of the Resolution Challenge. An event to be held January 4, 2014 from 9am-12pm in R. B. Winter State Park, Mifflinburg, PA in which participants aim to complete as many laps of the 1.5 -ish mile course. There is still much work to be done connecting the dots. Your patience, support, and outreach will be much appreciated!
With much gratitude,
Janell