1 AUGUST 2009, 7:29am
Good Morning, Team Wounded Warrior Project…thanks for checking in with us…Tom and I have a few points to update you on, so here goes:
1. Team WWP finished 10th overall at the 2009 Harrisburg Mile on July 15th. Above you’ll see a photo that my amazing and gorgeous fiancee Rachel took for me…let’s just say that, when all is said and done, after 250 miles of racing, that one-miler will be the most painful of all these experiences. It hurt, big time. I know that to a lot of you that’s going to seem counterintuitive, but, trust me on that point…my lungs felt like they were on fire for about 30 minutes post-race…
2. You’ll notice I had to punt on my Annual Birthday 30 Miler. I had some tightness in my left leg that I really didn’t want to push…so I’m thinking we’re going to knock that one out sometime over the next couple of weeks. It was really hard to pass that one by, but there’s a much greater event coming up…
3. The TransRockies Run. My first note is that Dr. Mary Kreis won’t be able to join us for the race. We’re sorry she can’t make it, but have been able to secure a great new teammate for what we’re trying to accomplish. His name is Justin Ricks, from Pueblo West, Colorado…and he’s a pretty smokin’ runner. He just set course records on two tough trail runs in Colorado, is about to take on Pike’s Peak in a couple weeks, and when he’s not helping out the Team WWP effort is a sponsored athlete with Team Pearl Izumi/Smith (see below). Bottom line, welcome to the Team, Justin, we’re excited to have you on board.
4. We’re in the home stretch – two months to go. I just booked our flight from DC to Minnesota for the Twin Cities 10 Miler. As of this morning, we’re just over the $33,000 mark…which is quite a bit shy of our $50,000 effort. However, if there’s one thing I’ve learned about raising money through all this, it’s that there is no such thing as “steady state” – growth is exponential. When the donations start coming in, they multiply quickly.
The question is, how do we do that? The short answer is you. I sincerely need you to talk to others about this, church groups, friends, classmates…even a personal donation…maybe even a second if you can swing it.
General MacArthur once talked about being “strong enough to know when you are weak.” Right now, that’s where I stand. I’m starting to fade and, what’s worse, I know it. For someone that’s so conditioned to being the one that has the longest breaking point, that’s not a comforting thought. But, the training and running, rehab and races are just about all I seem to be able to make time for anymore. Work and life have kind of overwhelmed me (and Tom) recently ~ and threatens to do more of the same moving forward, especially when I report to the Pentagon next month…
I’m still giving my best effort; I sincerely promise you that. You’ll always get that out of me, and even more so out of Tom. If nothing else, we have a base level of inspiration from the severely wounded veterans, the ones we’re doing this for.
This note is just to highlight our need for your help to sustain us…without you, we wouldn’t be as close to our goal as we are now…and your help is what’s going to get us over the finish line in two months…
All my best & keep moving forward,
Matt
P.S. The photo’s below are from our fundraiser at Axel’s & Prestwick Golf Club in Woodbury, MN, from this past March (Tom Cocchiarella, my partner is featured with me…the other is me speaking to the attendees).
I am excited about the upcoming event, it should be awesome.