Update December 2015

Cancer, cancer, cancer….

I heard this word whenever I stopped during my 120-mile run across Long Island this past weekend. It is word that we cannot ignore…it is word that has tragedy behind it…it is word that describes suffering…it is a word that should be in the dictionary as a thing of the past, not the present. What do you say to a person that is in their 20s and has metastatic cancer…what do you say to a person whose mother is a breast cancer survivor or whose brother has twice undergone treatment for prostate cancer and is now undergoing treatment for liver cancer….what do you say to a person who lost their father to lung cancer or to a person who just finished lung cancer treatment…or to a mother whose son has a brain tumor? There are hugs and tears. There are words of comfort and words of hope. But, what can I do for them? I could run more or run faster…I could do as our Governor Andrew Cuomo said during his recent talk: “Follow your talent and reach and touch another person”. And, I hope I do that, and I hope others do the same. All people with whom I spoke during this run are frustrated that there is still no cure for cancer. They ask “Why?” Yet, all have hopes that there will be a cure, and that the cure will come sooner than later. You may think, “What is a 120-mile run across Long Island for a long distance runner?” I can tell you that there were more dangers in this last run than there were running in the Sahara or on the Ice Road in the Arctic. The reason is simple: people. They try to scare you by driving straight at you and then at the last second pull away; they yelled at you with unspeakable language; but the worst thing that happened to me during this run was when someone threw some sort of icy liquid at both me and my running companion, Jay, which hit straight into my eyes. There is still pain and irritation in my left eye – but this will go away. This blinded me for a moment. It is sad to know that there are people everywhere who want to scare, hurt or destroy others; however, I believe that the majority of people good and want to help each other. For this reason I will not give up, as we should not give up or give in to life’s challenges. I would like to express my great appreciation for supporting this charitable run. As mentioned before, 100% of your donation goes to research and support. I hope during my run across Long Island next year, I can bring a better answer than just a hug. I do my little part, you do a little part, and hopefully together we make a difference for others. Thank you everyone for ALL you did to make this run and fundraiser successful.

Link to photos