Hiking Through Life » marathon

Marathon Completed

Chad — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 01:30:19 +0000

So I know I am a little slow with this update but better late than never. I completed the Marine Corps Marathon and raised a grand total of $2710 for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors! That is $90 over my goal of raising $100 per mile! I completed it in 5 hours and 22 minutes. My cousin Natalie, who came out from Colorado and ran it too, left me in her dust and completed it in 3 hours and 39 minutes to qualify for the Boston Marathon! It was a beautiful day with highs in the 60s and no wind. Perfect for marathon running. I had a great time (even towards the end when it started to hurt… there is just something about running with 25,000 people that is fun) and I left with a great sense of accomplishment! It was quite the rush running up the hill towards the Iwo Jima memorial with the big crowd of people cheering all the way to the finish. If you’re interested you can view photos of me running at the following link: http://community.marathonfoto.com/1369/finisher.cfm?bib=32656&lastName=Johnson

Thanks again to everyone who donated to my cause! TAPS is a great organization. I got this email today from a staff member with an update about the recent events at Ft Hood:

Undoubtedly, you have heard about the tragedy at Fort Hood and the 13 families who are at the dawn of their grief for their fallen military loved ones.

At this time, we simply want to say thank you for your support of TAPS, because you truly made it possible for our organization to fulfill our mission within the first few days of this tragedy.

Because of your past support, we were able to respond immediately to the need at Fort Hood, AND to those extended family members affected nationwide. Our crisis hotline saw a 200% increase in call volume over the last 4 days, and we know the calls will keep coming.

More than 80% of the families who lost their loved ones at Fort Hood reside outside of that immediate area, and TAPS is the only organization with the resources, staff and network of survivors nationwide to reach them in their time of need.

And now, we know the path of healing will lead many Fort Hood survivors on a journey for years to come. With your continued support, TAPS will stand ready to help those families for as long as they need us.

As the holiday season approaches, please keep TAPS and the families like those affected by Fort Hood in mind. Your donations help make a difference for those suffering the loss of a military loved one!

Marathon Training

Chad — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 02:08:54 +0000

Training is going well. I ran the Army Ten Miler Sunday and felt pretty good. The problem came Monday morning when I woke up and my right ankle was all swollen like I had twisted it the day before. It didn’t even hurt before I went to bed Sunday but I haven’t been able to run all week which is not a good thing considering the Marine Corps Marathon is 18 days away! I’m going to finish that marathon whether I run, walk or crawl across the finish line. I’m not out to set any records but I would like to finish in under 5 hours. I’ve hiked 26 miles in just over 9 hours and that was up and down 3 peaks over some rough terrain… I will likely be running and walking this marathon but I will finish.

I’m almost to my goal of raising $2620 for the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors. If you would like to donate click here or go to http://friendsoftaps.kintera.org/2009marinecorpsmarathon/chadjohnson

Training for Marathon

Chad — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 00:21:37 +0000

Yep… I’ve gone and done it. I’ve signed up to run the Marine Corps Marathon here in Washington DC. The race is on October 25th so this week marks 16 weeks until race day. I honestly always thought that people who ran marathons were crazy and I always said I would never run one… well, never say never. Two years ago I ran the MCM 10K and raised money in support of the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS). Once again I am raising money for TAPS but this year I’ve decided to stretch myself even further by running the entire marathon. I am running in memory of 1Lt Ray C. Owens. I was his sons mentor at the annual TAPS Good Grief Camp here in DC.

I have decided to try and raise $50 per mile I run. If I reach that goal by August 1st I will raise my goal to $100 per mile. If you would like to sponsor me and make a donation to TAPS click here.

To learn more about TAPS and what they do for families who have lost loved ones to military service visit their website at http://www.taps.org/