Thanks!!!

Just wanted to tell you Thank You!

I want to express my heart felt thanks to everyone who supported me in my Team In Training Marathon to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, either financially or with your positive thoughts and prayers. It was truly a team effort! This has truly been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life and I am so grateful to all of you for making it possible.

On October 31, 2005, I had the opportunity to run a marathon for all those that battle leukemia and other blood related cancers. I am delighted to have played a part in the battle against these diseases and I am equally delighted that you chose to join me.

Without a doubt this was the most challenging experience of my life. All the training, sweat, pain, and early morning runs really paid off. I started the run with 10,500 other runners. The picture that I included is me at Mile 18. I was in good spirits and was feeling really good at this point. You can see that the weather was really great. Much different from the first 12 miles, which I ran in the pouring down rain.

In situations of trial and pain, there is clarity of gratitude. Both in training and in the race, I felt a constant appreciation of your support. My journey has been a testament to the ability of the human body and spirit to overcome adversity. What an exhilarating experience, it continues, even now, to leave me speechless. Now that I have crossed the finish line, I have a new found energy, confidence and belief that there are no limits to what I can accomplish.

Blood related cancers strike an estimated 109,500 Americans each year and kill 60,300, yet in the last 40 years, five-year survival rates have tripled for leukemia. Your support did make a difference; it saved lives! Thank you for helping me complete an experience of a lifetime and for giving hope for the fight against cancer! Now if me running 26.2 miles wasn’t amazing enough for you, read on. Out of the 10,500 runners, there were 220 Team In Training Runners from the United States present in Dublin. Together we raised over $1.1 million. That is an amazing $43,000 per mile.

Having friends and family like you make me a very lucky person! Many thanks again for generosity in this life changing and life saving endeavor.

In sincere appreciation,
Mark



PS. I was really concerned about dehydrating, so I drank a lot of water at every chance that I got, thus adding to my accomplishment of not only finishing a marathon, but also peeing all over the city of Dublin.