Thank you times 3 or 33 or 48 or $23,000

Running a marathon requires training and dedication.  Child’s play in comparison to fund raising.

We’ve proven success at both.  Together, we’ve raised over $23,000 for The Andrew Reisse Fund, Children International and The Alliance for Children’s Rights.  Plus a lot of new people learned about their missions.  And this is before our match.

I am beyond thankful for the support you have shown me and these wonderful organizations.  My birthday presents this year were seeing all the donations and to receive amazing thank you notes about my work here.  People gave money and thanked me for the opportunity; how awesome is that?

I am not alone in my appreciation.  Each of the charities has sent along a thank you note:

From Margy Feldman, Director of Development at The Alliance for Children’s Rights

Dear Generous Supporters, 

Thank you so much for your contribution to The Alliance for Children’s Rights. Your gift in honor of Laird will enable us to bring stability to the children and families that we serve. Your generosity will ensure that many more children continue to get access to timely medical care, an equitable education and the support they need to finally have a permanent home. For children who spend every day in poverty, abuse and neglect, these basic rights often go unmet. You help us achieve these goals and allow more children to lead more safe and stable lives.
On behalf of the children whose lives are made better because of your support, we thank you. 

Warmly, 

Margy

And from Sarah Schubert, Children International

Nearly 30% of India's 1.2 billion people are families living in poverty.  They suffer from unsanitary conditions, substandard housing, inadequate health care, nutritional deficiencies and limited educational opportunities. Thank you for supporting Laird's audacious 50 state marathon goal so that in turn Children International can reduce the daily burdens for 5,000 children living in the Shahabad Dairy community in Delhi, India.  Through your support and the kindness of others, we look forward to investing in these children's potential and provide them with opportunities to grow up healthy, educated, empowered and employable to break the cycle of poverty. 

Thank YOU! 

Sarah Shubert

And BK Adams at Maryland

To everyone who donated to the Andrew Reisse Memorial Scholarship Fund, the Computer Science Department at the University of Maryland sends you our deepest gratitude.  Your donation will help to educate the next generation of Computer Science students, who will go on to create exciting software that impacts all of our lives. Through your generosity, Andrew Reisse's legacy of creativity, mentorship, and ingenuity will continue on.

UMD Computer Science Shirt and my medal

If you wish to learn more about these charities and to continue your support in other ways, please contact them; I am happy to provide their email addresses.  They are run by amazing people doing incredible work.

I feel like I celebrated my birthday for over two weeks since you all kicked off the donations responding to my appeal.  It is time to wrap up birthday 48.  Still lots of marathons to run - 17 before I am 50.  Back to training!


I’ll be keeping the blog updated too and posting on Facebook.

And if you are ever interested in a run or have a charity you support, let me know.

Best,

Laird

Bye until the next run...

It's a Mad, Mad, Mad. Mad Marathon and that's just fine

It's just really green here!

I mean really green!

Sunday dawned brightly upon verdant Vermont and Waitsfield, the home of the 5th annual Mad Marathon.  Started by Dori Ingalls in 2011, the marathon supports a few local charities including Hannahs House which helps mentally ill people in need.  Not knowing this before, I was happy to learn why so many people were wearing running shirts emblazoned with that logo. (Around mile 22, I finally asked.)

If you have had a chance to read the proceeding blogs, then you are likely bored of hearing about this race!  So, the short story is this:

• It's beautiful here!
• The race went great!
• I ran with a fellow Marathon Manica, Jc, for about 22 miles of it which was fun.
• The charity update is that we are $30 short of $23,000.  I would love to hit that and then $24,000 if at all possible.  With our 100% match, that would be $48,000 = $1000 for my 48th birthday today.  https://www.justgive.org/runlairdrun
• It’s beautiful here!

Still with me? Then let’s get into some details.

Strangely, I did not sleep well before the race.  Normally I do, but it’s hot here and I think that had something to do with the tossing and turning.  When you wake at 2, 3 and 4 and don’t need to be conscious until 5, doubts start to settle in.  The race schedule stated 7 am for the gun to fire, and I like 2 hours ahead. This is not about preparation time - I can get ready in 15 mins for a marathon.  I just prefer the body to do its thing if you catch my meaning before I run.

A gathering of Maniacs

So, all, em, ready at 6:35 am, I heading across the street to the starting location.  I made it just in time to jump into the obligatory Marathon Maniacs photo shoot (which in looking on Facebook, I see I am just off frame - oh well).  Anyway, due to re-construction of an 1833 bridge on the course, we will be starting two waves.  Those 3 hours and less go first and those of us over that run 1 min later.

Race Director Dori fires the gun for wave 2, and I’m off.  This is a hilly marathon. It features 1950 total feet of elevation gain.  What I quickly discover is that there are really no flat bits.  There’s lots of ups and lots of downs.  Most everyone walks the super steep parts.  No shame in that.

I caught the gun going off perfectly! Would my race go as well?

The first covered bridge, circa 1833

Somewhere on the first down, my buddy Jc taps me on the shoulder.  We’ve run parts of races in Fargo, Niagara Falls, and one other place neither of us could remember.  We were also both at the Route 66 Marathon together too but never saw one another.

Jc (right) takes a drink before heading through another covered bridge

Running backwards (show off!) to pose for Jc's photo of me

Jc knows everyone.  I mean everyone.  The route features a series of out and backs, and as we were returning, he just kept calling out names of people going the other way and introducing me to them.  Small races like this are just great for that.  There is really a community feel; it’s low key.  In fact, I am finding Vermont to be very relaxed overall, but this small race feeling is pretty universal.  Dori greeted us upon our finish and took pictures with us.

Laird, Dori and Jc

The scenery is why you come to run this race, and it does not disappoint.  From tall trees to distant mountains, the race really featured a lot of this central Mad River Valley.  Because I am crazy, I took a bunch of photos.  Jc patiently walked while I did this, and he even snapped the one of my on the course running backwards so I could pose.

A bit on Jc’s resume.  Today was his 199th marathon.  He will hit 200 next week in Colorado. His wife was running her 6th today, and his daughter, sister and brother-in-law were running too.  Two other daughters greeted us around mile 24.  So, it was a family shindig for him.  He finished his 50 states 2 years ago a week after his 50th birthday. I cannot recall if he has done the continents yet, but he did give me a good recommendation for the Philippines where he is originally from.  But let it be known there are people crazier than I with my party 140 less marathons than he has.

It was more uphill than this looks

Fortunately, the worst of the course happens from mile 6 to about 18 leaving the last 6 miles or so pretty all downhill other than one big dip and a small uphill to the finish.  We both came in sub-4:15 which considering the terrain was quite good.  We finished 68 and 69 of about 300.  Not bad for two old men who promptly dropped our hot and tired feet into one of two inflatable ice pools kindly provided by Dori and team.

This was my first birthday marathon, and it was great.  I was well prepared, ran with a friend and met a bunch of new ones.  I’ve completed all of the New England states and 33 of them all.  And all of your contributions have been amazing.  My goddaughter called me a little bit ago.

Ahh, felt soooo goooood

Thanks for making birthday 48 super special.

On to state 34 and marathon 60!

Best,

Laird

33 States and counting...

2015 Charity Update 5 - On the way to Vermont

Shrek & me before marathon and state number 1 - LA Marathon 2007

Dear friends and family - 

Well, I’m heading east.  If GoGo inflight internet works out, I’ll post this from 35,000 feet. (It worked!)

Over Wyoming's hills on the flight

Great news in that we passed $21,000 today in donations. I cannot thank you enough nor can the charities.  More over, so many of you have shared kind words about this campaign that I am overjoyed. The feelings and charity gifts both are amazing birthday presents.

Over the past few days, I’ve endeavored to share with you some information about the charities in our campaign and how in some small way I have been personally connected to them.  You can find those blog posts here, here and here.

Now attention turns to the run itself.  The marathon as I have written is quite hilly (not as hilly as Wyoming which we fly over a few hours ago).  When asked recently how do I train for that, I of course answered that I train by running hills!  Fortunately I like doing so.  I'll experience about 2,000 feet of elevation gain. And loss - down is sometimes harder on the legs than up.  Your support will certainly keep the spring in my step as I go up and our charities do as well.

July 14, 2013 - State 20 - Montana

As part of this goofy quest to hit all 50 states before I turn 50 (2 years to go), scheduling becomes a challenge.  And finding summer marathons in new states is not all that easy in any case although I have managed to find them.  The closest I’ve come to running a marathon on my actual birthday was in Montana two years ago (Sunday, July 14).  I just stumbled across this weekend’s marathon almost by accident.  (I have run on my birthday every year since 2007 though and did do a 5K once.)


The race itself is not all that large - I think a few hundred competitors as 282 finished last year's.  In fact, the run has few enough participants that the race director, Dori, emailed me personally after I signed up. This is the fifth year of the race, and having a personal touch is amazing.  She even gave me her cell phone!  And she kindly offered to give me whatever bib number I wanted.  I selected 12 (the other option were 33 and 48 I guess).  I look forward to meeting Dori and her team this weekend.  There is actually a whole series of events from a concert Friday night to lots of places hosting dinners on Saturday.  And there is a farmer’s market they recommend on Saturday too.

As for training, a lot of people ask me about tapering - the reduction of running before a race.  I do in fact do this to some extent, although since I run a marathon every 4-6 weeks, I am sort of always training for them.  So, I go up and down in more of a sine wave than a square wave.  This week has been just 5 miles Tuesday and I’ll do 5-7 miles tomorrow.  Post run, I’ll run again on Wednesday - probably an easy 5.  Now, some people just think those are nutty distances.  I tell everyone that any run is amazing even to the end of the block. Or just walk.  The key is to get out and be active.

Running for Andrew Reisse June 2013

The other question I get a lot is about food - do I carbo load?  That I do not do.  In fact, I try to eat a grain-free diet. So, no pasta for me.  I do love to eat fish before a race - got to get in those fatty acids!  Being back east, I am hoping some good fish options appear on the menus.  I try to really keep to the same diet as normal even when traveling. I've been known to find the closest Whole Foods, and it's even better when I can find a real co-op with local foods.

Once again, thank you for the donations. If you haven’t donated yet and wish to, here’s the link again.

More news from the weekend as it happens.

Best,

Laird

2015 Charity Update 4 - The Alliance for Children's Rights

Just 6 days to go until the Mad River marathon in Vermont.  I’ll run Tuesday in Palo Alto and then Friday in New York City, and neither run will be long.  I’ll do strength training on Wednesday and maybe get an early morning bike ride Thursday before I fly east.  Saturday, I’ll rest.  It's all about planning.

Reminders:
More about this blog article series: 2015 Charity Run Campaign
Please donate by clicking here.  We are matching all donations 1:1.  So even $33 yields $66.

On the donation front, we passed $19,000 today which continues to be amazing.

-------------------------------

This third update will give you a little background on The Alliance for Children’s Rights.

The Alliance is a Los Angeles charity focusing on supporting and helping children in the foster system.  They provide free legal services (usually by practicing attorneys who give their time pro bono), help families adopt children and mentor and train children and teens.

Here’s how they introduce themselves:

“The Alliance for Children’s Rights protects the rights of impoverished, abused and neglected children and foster youth throughout Los Angeles County. We provide free legal services and advocacy to ensure that children and youth—from birth to age 24—have safe, stable homes, healthcare and the education they need to thrive. We also work statewide to improve child welfare practices and policies in order to remove the many barriers our clients face.

“Whether it’s finalizing a foster child’s adoption, getting a toddler speech therapy or helping a young adult find housing and support services, we level the playing field and give vulnerable kids a voice.”

The Alliance Score on Charity Navigator

We found the Alliance through charity navigator, a great resource for evaluating the quality of non-profit organizations and how well they direct funds to their goals.  The Alliance is a top rated 4 star organization, and 93% of funds raised go to their programs.  We were contacted by the team after our donation, and I got involved not only as a donor but as an active member of the community.

Dinner with Friends Host Committee

In the past 5 years, I have co-chaired two LA Marathon fundraising campaigns for the Alliance, served on the Friends of the Alliance committee and helped host a fundraising dinner.  I also had a chance to volunteer at a teen workshop where the kids learned everything from car maintenance to healthy cooking.

Particularly from this last event, I was able to really meet and speak to some of the people the Alliance helps every day.  Only when you speak to these amazing youths do you really feel their dreams and passions and fears.  They are friendly and polite, but they also open up and are honest about what life will bring.  Maybe this is because most of them have seen sorrow and felt pain - growing up without their parents, often separated from siblings, low on money.  The story is not the same for all of them, and the slope is slippery to stereotypes. However, what I also heard was hope - hope they can create their own destinies.  I think the Alliance’s clear mission is to inspire that sense.

The Alliance is also active in state politics having championed various legislature changes to help foster kids.  As an example, they worked to allow fosters to go to age 21 instead of 18.

They believe in education and health care and work to expedite these services for kids in the programs they run.  Since their founding in 1992, they have helped over 125,000 youths.

As you hopefully understand, the Alliance is a great organization.

Thank you for your support!

Laird

2015 Charity Update 3 - Andrew Reisse Memorial Scholarship

This third update follows from this post about the 2015 Charity Run Campaign leading up to my 48th birthday on July 12, and state marathon 33 of 50 (see more about that goal).

First off, an update on the fundraising. We've crossed $18,000 yesterday! Again, I really appreciate this as do the people the charities support.  What awesome birthday presents!

Please donate by clicking here.  We are matching all donations 1:1.  So even $12 yields $24.


Today’s spotlight is the Andrew Reisse Scholarship Fund at the University of Maryland.

Andrew Reisse

Andrew Reisse, a graduate of the University of Maryland Computer Science program, helped start a company called Scaleform with Brendan Iribe and Michael Antonov.  Flash forward about a decade, and Scaelform is sold to Autodesk.  All of that team end up at Gaikai which promptly is sold to Sony.

3 years ago this weekend, the team met Palmer Luckey and saw his crazy duct tape VR prototype.  Oculus was born and on its way to a massive Kickstarter campaign and ultimate acquisition by Facebook.  I was lucky enough to meet the team in October 2012 and join in January 2013 as employee 15.

Unfortunately, these past three years has seen a terrible tragedy before even our one year anniversary. Andrew, a key programmer on the team, was killed while walking across the street - a victim of a police chase gone horribly wrong as a car driven by gang members fatally struck him.

Following this horrible incident, we decided to create an endowed scholarship in Andrew’s memory.  Dan Offner, our GC, and myself reached out to the University of Maryland and did the paperwork.  Brendan Iribe, our CEO and fellow UMD former student, endorsed the plan, and all of us on the board of directors approved Oculus’ support.  We worked closely with Andrew's parents, Dana and Robert Reisse (themselves graduates of UMD), to help define the qualifications students would need to receive the annual scholarship.

Andrew had a passion for photography, and we wanted to ensure that his broad view of the world was reflected in the scholarship.  Andrew would go off for days of hiking to spend time with nature, his camera often his only companion.  While this was not a requirement of the scholarship, perspective students needed to share this joy of the world.  I’ve added a few of Andrew's photographs here but really you should just lose yourself amongst the art at http://www.reisse.net.

To date, two students have received the scholarship:  Zachary and Corey

Corey wrote this about the scholarship:

"The Andrew Reisse Memorial Scholarship allowed me to focus more on my studies, and take more of the classes that I actually wanted to take.   It allowed me to spend more time outside of school tinkering with side projects. Curiosity is what brings about change, discovery, and learning, and the scholarship helped me satisfy some of my own curiosity about special topics not covered in my classes.  It invaluably opened up many doors for career opportunities after graduation."


Zach was the first recipient, and he ended up interning for us at Oculus.  In a letter he wrote to Bob and Dana, he mentioned his love of hiking.  In fact he had spent a summer at CERN and used the weekends to search out trails in he surrounding Alps.  He went on to draw a an even more direct connection with Andrew:

Great Falls MD

“Andrew took photographs of some of the exact spots at Great Falls MD that I had been to.  I go there several times every summer and relish the fact that such a beautiful environment is so close to my home.  When I was old enough to want to go without my parents, I would forge my own trails over the rocks near the Billy Goat Trail to catch the amazing views of the Potomac River. Andrew seems to have found the same perches and hidden spots I did.  The bond that I felt strengthened further.”

Corey overlapped interests with Andrew as well. Andrew loved to program with graphics, and Corey shares this passion as well.


All the UMD money we receive for this marathon fund raiser will go to add to the endowment and help ensure the fund lasts forever.

We still miss Andrew at work. It’s odd to think that so few of us worked with him but we have a nice nook with his photos up to always remember he helped us become what we are today.

Thanks,  Laird

2015 Charity Update 2 - July 4 Palisades Will Rogers 10K

The Color Guard arrives for race start

This second update follows along from this post about the 2015 Charity Run Campaign leading up to my 48th birthday on July 12, and state marathon 33 (see more about that goal).

You can donate by clicking here.

First off, an update on the fundraising. We've crossed $16,500 today!  Wow!  Even on the 4th of July, people are still donating.  I really appreciate this as do the charities themselves.  What awesome birthday presents!

And remember, we're matching donations 1:1.

As promised yesterday, I am back with an update on today's "tune up" race - the Pacific Palisades Will Rogers 10K (6.2 miles).  This is a special race because, this event, started in 1978, was the first one I ever ran in 2006.  I attempted the 5K. The experience was so wonderful that I decided to keep at this crazy mid-life crisis running addiction.  The joy I felt that day in something close to 28 minutes has propelled me to competing marathons in 11 countries and 32 states and having run in even more for fun.

Besides being less than 10 minutes walk from my Palisades home, the Will Rogers tradition has a great atmosphere.  It kicks off a day of Palisadian events including a parade and a concert with fireworks.  My friend Andrew, who along with his family, I spent the pre-race time with, thinks this overdose of July 4 is due to so many service people settling in the area after World War II.  Whether that's true or not, I cannot say, but a healthy patriotic pride permeates Pacific Palisades each Independence Day.

Over 2,000 people run each year, and probably more line the streets.  Red, white and blue is in ample supply.

I came in with a goal of 50 minutes with a stretch goal of 48 minutes in honor of my pending birthday in 8 days time.  At 8:15, after a stirring rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, the gun fires.

The race starts off with a nice downhill through a residential area.  The area is packed at this stage as both 5K and 10K runners share the street.  After a half mile, I'm able to throttle down and get some speed going.  Running this course requires a real plan as there are very few flat sections - it's either up or down.  For those paying attention, that's perfect for me knowing that the Mad River VT marathon next week will be super hilly.

Run Dog Run! (and check out the socks at the top)

After looping the neighborhood, the course splits as 5Kers return to the Palisades Park to finish.  We 10kers head down Sunset Blvd towards the base of Will Rogers State Park by descending the famed road for half a mile.  The park was the home to the famed showman and after his untimely death, the state inherited the property.  The park itself is some 250 feet above Sunset, so a series of switchbacks are required to surmount the highest point on the course.

Up we go...

As you can view in the photos, this really is a natural setting (and one with a significant ascension).  Trails veer out of Will Roger into the Santa Monica Mountains and offer hours and miles of trail running or hiking.  Today the goal was only to loop the polo field and head back to the Palisades Park for our finish.

... And we are still going up!

And finally the highest point on the course, polo field to the left

A funny moment happened on our way down from the park.  A fellow runner yelled "left" so that he could sneak between me and the curb, he being able to minimize his total distance by about 1 foot vs just going around me.  I dutifully adjusted to give Captain America his requested access as he bounded down the quad shredding return to Sunset.

I smoked him on the ascent back up Sunset to the Palisades.

The end was happily uneventful.  I averaged 7:36 per mile and never had a mile over 7:55 even on the hilly bits.  500 feet of elevation up and down over 6 miles.  Perfect.

Well, I beat 50:00.

And I beat my pending birthday 48:00 goal.

My end time: An appropriate 47:47.  I will enjoy the final 8 days of that number!

Tomorrow, we'll look at the University of Maryland and our Andrew Reisse Scholarship.

Thanks for your continued support.

Laird

2015 Charity Run - Update 1 - Children International

Charity Run 2015:  Update 1 and Children Information Info

(Reminder - please support these great charities and celebrate my 48th birthday: Donate here.)
(Learn more about the 2015 Fundraiser and my next marathon on July 12.)

We are five days into the charity fundraiser for 2015, and I’m happy to report that you have given over $14,000 so far.  To be fair, this is skewed by a massive $10,000 donation, but over $4,000 in a few days is also wonderful.  Thank you all!

We have another week to go for the marathon, and I’ll be doing a tune up run tomorrow in Pacific Palisades - The Will Rogers 5k/10k.  This is the first race I ever tried. (I trotted the 5k back in 2006.)  It’s a local affair but still attracts 1000’s of people from around SoCal and even sometimes tourists too.  The race is a tour of the neighborhood and then a steep switchback up to Will Rogers State Park,  past the polo field, and finally back down to Sunset and the finish.  I think I have done 7 or 8.

In addition, I referenced running 50 states before I am 50.  Vermont on my birthday next week will be my 33rd of the 50, and I have 2 years to run the remaining 17.  I have a vague plan, but of course one has to react to the rest of life too.  Here’s a post I put up a few years ago about my 50 goals.  The 50 miler is already done and 50 states is next.  For those who don’t know, I’ve already run on 7 continents.

But let’s get to something more important.

Over the next few days, I am going to highlight the three charities I support.  We’ll start with Children International.

This Kansas City MO based foundation has been in existence since 1936 (under a different name) with a focus on disabled children and widows.  35 years ago, the group opened their first projects in India, the Philippines and Guatemala.

From their website:  “Today, Children International gets the majority of its funding from individual and corporate contributions, international development agencies and local governments. Our organization continues to expand our web of hope, reaching hundreds of thousands of impoverished children.  The programs by which we achieve these efforts include health and hygiene lessons, social and financial education, leadership training, sports for development activities, job-skills training and scholarships.”

They work in a huge range of countries:  Colombia, the Dominican, Ecuador, Guatemala, Honduras, India, Kenya, Mexico, Philippines, Zambia and the United States.  Truly international!

I visited a center in Chile in 2011, and since then, CI has actually stood down as Chile moved out of the developing nations status.  My visit was really amazing - to see the medical clinic and to meet the staff was incredible.  Getting to go and see the actual people in their homes and chat with them in my poor Spanish was very special.  Every house had pictures of their children.  If you needed a reminder of the bonds between people no matter the circumstances, that was it.

We have 4 supported girls in The Philippines, and for the charity runs, we sponsor a specific project.  This year, we are working to improving CI’s new center in Delhi India.  Sarah, my contact at CI sent this info:

“Shahabad Dairy is a slum in the northwest part of Delhi. It is home to more than 21,000 families crammed into a six-block area. Residents settled there over 25 years ago when they were evicted from government and private lands in Delhi. Children International’s second community center in Delhi, India, will bring much-needed support to impoverished children in the community of Shahabad Dairy.”

There’s even more info here:  https://www.children.org/shahabad-dairy-new-center

Just this one stat alone sends shudders through me:  “The student-to-teacher ratio in Shahabad Dairy is an abysmal one teacher per 100 students.”

All the money we raise for CI on this run will go helping this center come together.

Thank you for your support.

---------
Tomorrow, we’ll come back with an update on the 10k.

Laird