Quadraman Fun Run

Since I started running in 2010, I have ran a great deal of races, including a half marathon. Most of the time, I just pay the registration and not really think about what the cause is for if there is one. I think the only times I've ever ran something close to my heart was the Sprint for Life series (2012 and 2013). Never have I thought about actually organizing my own race. 

Until now. My good friend, David Hartsock risked his body and life on August 1, 2009, to save another human being whom he had never met before. He was a Tandem Instructor at Skydive Houston; Shirley Dygert was his passenger there to celebrate her son's 30th birthday. Strapped together, they left the plane at 13,500ft. Shirley was having the time of her life, plummeting to the earth at 120mph. After about 45 seconds of freefall, it was time to wave goodbye to the videographer and open the parachute. But there was a problem; the parachute didn't open properly. A seasoned professional, David quickly deployed the reserve parachute, which became tangled with the main parachute. David and Shirley were now descending way too fast and a moment that will forever link these two names.

As the ground rushed up to meet them, David made the decision to place himself underneath his passenger so that he could take the full impact when they crashed. Shirley suffered multiple broken vertebrae and internal injuries, but she walked away. David fared much worse. With spinal cord damage, he was paralyzed from the neck down. He had never met Shirley before this day, but he sacrificed himself for her making him a hero in our eyes.

For more information, watch this below.

After the accident, I toyed with the idea of organizing a 5k to raise money, but it never materialized. And then I heard that David was making yet another trip to the hospital, which meant more financial burdens on David and his family. Medical expenses and a full-time nurse are not cheap. Plus, his 80+ year old mother helps take care of David 24 hours a day, seven days a week. I decided to make that 5k plan something real. Little did I know, that my friend Kate (Sprint For Life Kate and hater of all things running or so she says) was thinking along the same lines right at the same time. We asked for advice from our two other friends, Susan and Jen, who were asking us what they could do to help. It all seemed like magic and the Quadraman Fun Run was born.

Come join us on February 8, 2014, at 8 a.m. at Bear Creek Park for the first annual Quadraman Fun Run. It's a two mile run and the best thing is that it's only $10. If you can't be in the Houston area on that time, don't fret. We set up a Virtual Run for the same price. Just make sure to send us your pictures about your run or organized run. We will also have a Quad Trot for the younger participants ages 2-10, which is a 444 ft run.

Register for this easy and inexpensive run at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=44905. Everyone is encouraged to raise funds for their run. A special gift will be given to the top fundraiser. Donate at https://tix.extremetix.com/Online/?siteID=3627&eventID=47038. If you are donating to help a registered runner raise funds, then place their name in the Ticket Holder Name field.

So, please come out and show your support to help our friend called David.

Like our Facebook page for updates on the fun run and fun facts or visit Dave's Caring Bridge site for updates on his progress.

Upcoming Races for KW

Well, I'm not going to let the fact that I had to miss my first marathon again get me down, even if I paid for it already. I'm also not going to even let this darn foot thing get me down, because I'm officially in normal tennis shoes now for the next two weeks. I can see the end of this last obstacle in sight.

Woohoo! Two Shoes People...TWO. SHOES.

And then, I'm free to do what I want when I want.

But I'm really talking about running. 

So, now it was time to put this year's bad stuff aside and pick my marathon. I did a great deal of research on available marathons in the Spring vs. how long I can do my training vs. where I will be hanging out. My friend Helen mentioned the Edinburgh Marathon to me a month or two a go and I considered it. I mean it was right around my birthday (two days in fact), I will be in England about that time, and it's during England's bank holiday time and Memorial Day for us Americans. I was still undecided, but then I jokingly mentioned the marathon to my other friend JL. In a surprise chess move, she said, "Sure!" I gave her the information and then a couple of weeks later, I registered. 

So, it's official. I am signed up to run the EMF Edinburgh Marathon Festival on May 25, 2014.

JL registered and then she registered her husband. Sometimes, I think she forced him, but she assures me that she didn't. I immediately wrote Helen an email to let her know that good news and she was totally excited. 

We all picked our expected finish times of 4 hours, 17 minutes. This will be a fast time for me, but I wanted a better chance of all three of us (and hopefully Helen, too) getting in the same corral. I also found out after I signed up that we are not allowed to use music players. So, I'm going to need some people to talk to during the marathon or I may go insane. And now, I'm going to have to train without music, too. Well, maybe. I mean, I trained with music and didn't even use it during the half marathon. So, who knows. 

And to jumpstart my exercise, I also registered last night for two other races, both of which will be ran with my running partner extraordinaire, Sara.

• Total Jingle Bell 5 Mile Run on December 15, 2013, which will be a nice holiday burn some calories run before my epic holiday extravaganza trip to England for two weeks. I'm pushing myself a bit with five miles, but the 5k involves the runners and walkers. I don't want to deal with that crowd like the Turkey Tot last year.
• And the mother of all runs (which might be as important as the marathon) is The Duck Dash 5k, with Duck Dynasty's Jep Roberston through Minute Maid Park on February 15, 2014. We get beards and a bandana with our registration and Sara and I are searching for some awesome cameo gear for the run. She found some awesome shorts, but they may be too cold to wear during February. I think my mom might be more excited for me to run this than I am until she found out that Si won't be there.
• I'm also going to register for the Woodlands Half, March 1, 2014, with Sara, of course. It's the perfect time for my half in my training series and she has ran it before with Kris. 

Plus, I have lots of biking fun coming up, including HTX BikeFest next Saturday, November 16, 2013, at Market Square Downtown (10 a.m.-6 p.m.), November's Critical Mass, December's Karbach Bruise Cruise, December's Taco Ride, and any other bike rides I find along the way. 

So, that's my plan for the upcoming months leading up to and running in my marathon. I hope to see you out there for support. I know Jim would like the company since he will be lonely for the four hours cheering for me in Scotland. I mean it IS a great vacation idea. I do plan to tour some Scotch distilleries for my birthday on that Friday. 

I added this picture of Tucker just because...he just sat there like this for 10 minutes.