"Team Andy" at the Marine Corps Marathon

Hi all,

Once again, its been some time since I last blogged. I know that it gets better with time, and I trust that it will, but to be honest it is very hard for me to sit down and write since Andy passed away. I don't know if its due to some sort of guilt, or denial, lack of acceptance but I find the time moving by, thinking about putting out another update, but not doing so.


I have a ton to write, I could post the letters I compose to Andy when stuck in traffic, during a quiet moment at night, laying awake thinking about life, missing him, but I am not sure that this is the right forum for them. Maybe I'll sit down and put them together for myself, to give Nicholas when he's older.


So the big news is that at the end of this week, "Team Andy" will participate in the running / walking of the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC as a fundraising effort for the Lung Cancer Alliance. We're doing this in honor of the fight Andy showed us and in memory of a brother, husband, cousin, father, friend and coworker. Six words that don't begin to describe Andy, and the relationships we had with him.


Our cousin Sara contacted me this spring, asking if there was anything she could do in terms of running as a fundraiser. At the time, I was training for the summer swim that benefits Dana Farber. I told Sara I would look around, but not participate given the time required to train for the swim and the fact that I am not a runner. We found "Team Lung Love" running in the Marine Corps Marathon. Sara signed up to run it, and a few days later Jen and Ann were looking online, and read that you could walk the marathon route as well... so next thing you know, we joined, as did Sara's husband Jim. A few days later, Andy's college roommate Jeff and friend Sarah signed up as well. And so "Team Andy" was registered. We've committed to raising a minimum of $7,000 as a team and are hoping to raise over $10,000. We are also hoping this can raise awareness about Lung Cancer.


The fine print that we neglected is that the course is only open for 7 hours... and by the time the runners start, it works out to about 6:15 for walkers - that's a 14 min/mile pace, or 4.3 mph. That's pretty fast for walking. Our training this summer has morphed into a modified run/walk, as there are some challenges along the course; you must "Beat the Bridge" or be forced to ride the bus.


So why are we doing this? There are plenty of ways to honor Andy, but we felt that raising funds for the Lung Cancer Alliance was very worthy of our efforts and your help. LCA is "the only national non-profit organization dedicated solely to patient support and advocacy for people living with lung cancer and those at risk for the disease." I reached out to them when Andy was diagnosed, I used their materials. Lung Cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States, with a 5 year survival rate of 15%, and is also the lowest Federally funded in terms of research. LCA is advocating for increased funding for Lung Cancer Research for detection and treatment.


So how can you help? By spreading the word about Andy's life, pointing folks to the blog to tell his story, and by supporting our team. Every bit counts. Donations can be made online at Jen's fundraising page: http://bit.ly/tDjZX5.


Jen is very passionate about this cause, and has pledged $1,000 of her own money to match the first $1,000 in donations made. An anonymous donor has also pledged another $500 to Team Andy to match an additional $500 in donations made by the race this Sunday. So if we can get to $1,500 donations, it will be doubled, bringing us $3,000 closer to our goal and providing much needed funding for lung cancer.


Thank you in advance for your contributions, for your good wishes and for your support. It is my hope that we will beat this disease, so someday no other family will have to go through this.


Tim