13.1 Miles! We must be crazy

2019 is going to be an amazing year! 

Last weekend Kristi and I were in Orlando to run the Walt Disney World half marathon with Team Fox.  The preparation for the race started almost immediately after the golf tournament last summer but the  last month of training proved difficult with the holiday's and the cold weather. Our goals were to complete the race in less than 3 hours,  no walking and finish together  We accomplished all 3 goals.   

Our cheering section entering the weekend was Jason's parents and our friends, Mike and Dinahanna.  Mike is also my trainer/running buddy and ran the 10K the day before our race. We quickly realized that with Team Fox plus our enthusiastic group of 4 we may have had the loudest cheering section on the course!  

The time we spent with Team Fox was so motivating.  Each person running or cheering for Team Fox has been touched by PD somehow.  On Friday we spent a couple hours with the team and it was clear that we were all there to help fight for a cure. 

We got on the bus Saturday morning at 3:30 am headed to the starting lines at Epcot.    I could tell we were both nervous and excited.  We trained so hard but neither one of us had run a race like this before.  We weren't running to win the race but I think both of us were running to make the statement that even though PD has become part of our reality it doesn't mean we can't fight back and win the day!  

Kristi and I planned on running the race together.  That morning another Team Fox runner asked if he could run with us.  The next few hours flew by while we got to know John, his journey with PD and how he stays motivated.  On the back of John's shirt for every race it says 'Parkinson's runner and you just got passed'!  When we ran the half marathon with John, he already completed the 5K on Thursday and the 10K on Friday as part of the Dopey challenge,  4 races in 4 days (5K, 10K, half and full marathon).  John and I have traded a few texts since the weekend and he already challenged me to start training for the Dopey 2020! 

Thanks for supporting our journey.  To be clear we are fighting a tough opponent but we remain optimistic that if we win today there may be a cure tomorrow!  

Take Care,
Jason and Kristi