THANK YOU AND GOOD MORNING

Hello. Firstly, many, many thanks to all of you who are supporting our run (and thereby support our mission at the Farm). This being my debut blog post effort, you can expect wildly pertinent information.

Seven of us will be cruising down to the Cape in s-t-y-l-e...aka the Enoch's seven passenger minivan. I'm redefining proper usage here and shotgunning the middle section door side seat. (You'll note the importance of staking territory when riding in a vehicle in which all available seats are filled).

Of significance is that fact that I will not be running the marathon this weekend. An unfortunate incident involving turkey slaughter, a very sharp knife, and my hand occurred about six weeks ago. Details? People seem to want to hear them. The knife (luckily fairly slim) went into my left palm and hit a couple of nerves, a tendon, and a muscle. Of course the knife, almost passing through completely, went through the head of the turkey first (essential detail for mental re-creation). A hand surgeon in the area fit me into his schedule the next day and made repairs. I should be released to all activities fully on November 4th. Let's note that the appointment runs a distant second to another event occurring on this day (I will refrain from making a political plug). The hand stabbing took me out of three crucial training weeks. I was unable to run the longest and second longest runs on my schedule. My goal is to continue training to run a marathon in the spring.

An intentional and ultimately related digression. We've all been inundated with the competition of politics for months now. Well, here's a quick read on the politics of competition.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/21/BAUC13L3GQ.DTL&nopu=1

As a friend pointed out, "It's almost a perfect sociological metaphor for the persecutions of poverty, ethnicity, and culture. Some start ahead. Most start behind. Even those who surpass the "elite" are still ignored, disregarded, and even criticized for their excellence." That aside, it's worth reading if you're in the mood for some athletics related righteous indignation.

To our relay team, Steph, Michal, Beth, Courtney, and Stephen: ROCK ON, it's fantastic to see all of you take on this event (considering doubts, busy schedules, and last minute fill ins)!

A particular thank you to Matthew, Jay, and Ben who are joining in support as our crew team.

Laura, we miss you!

A final THANK YOU to everyone who has taken the time to keep up with our progress (and road blocks), and all who have lent their support (monetary and moral). We have exceeded our fundraising goal and hope that this success will set in motion future efforts. They say marathons have an addictive quality...

Less than a week.

We've done all the training we can. We've contacted all the people in our address books. Now it's time to plan out our weekend in Cape Cod!

We're all excited to run this race, do our best, and run to end the stigma against mental illness. Thank you all for helping us exceed our goal! Wow, you are all amazing and the Gould Farm community gives its thanks.

Most recently, thank you to Kristan and Jason Enoch for donating $100!

We'll keep the fundraising page open until just before Thanksgiving.

Check back after this weekend for race pictures!

Above and beyond!

We're only a week away from the run, and donations continue to trickle in.

Many thanks to all that have been contributing over these past few months! Our latest thanks go to:

Bob Rausch
John Otenesak (for a second donation!)
Robert and Florence Stucker
Gige O'Connell

We have SURPASSED our $3000 goal! Thank you, thank you, thank you.

We will post pictures of the run, so be sure to check back in a few weeks!

25 days to go!

Hello all!

First off, a HUGE thank-you to the Kreiders for donating $200!!! You boosted us so close to our goal, we can almost reach it!

And now the final push: 25 days till race time. Will everyone help us surpass that goal?

From Stockbridge to Scotland...

So... I'm leaving the farm... I have a really great job in Scotland and I finally, last Monday, after 10 weeks of trying, got a visa. So I am leaving on October 6 and am super excited!!!
However, as with most transitions, there are also a lot of bittersweet realities to leaving everything behind to go on adventures... For me the participation in the marathon is one of those things. I had planned on running the Loch Ness Marathon, but because of the visa holdup, I won't be in Scotland in time for that. And I won't be here for the Cape Cod Marathon. So here's what I'm going to do -- I plan to continue running in Scotland and plan to run in support of Gould Farm in my very own homemade marathon with one runner on the Isle of Mull... And I also hope to train through the winter there (wish me luck) and run officially in the Edinburgh Marathon in May. If you are interested in knowing more about that when it comes around (or interested in knowing what I'm doing in Scotland) feel free to visit my personal blog: shapeastarlaura.blogspot.com.
Regardless, thank you for your continued support of the farm and the marathoners who are still doing lots of good hard work in training for the races. Blessings to you all!