The morning of Sunday March 4th I ran farther than I’ve run since finishing the Honolulu Marathon with Julie in 2001. In that race I faked an injury at mile 17, pulled off the road, kneeled, and proposed marriage to Julie. Today I ran more than 20 miles pushing our five year-old in a stroller. Two weeks from today (regrettably the Sunday after SXSW) I’ll test my feet and legs in the LA Marathon, running Sunset and Santa Monica Blvd from Dodger Stadium to Santa Monica Pier. This is the first of two marathons I’d like to run this year, my goal being to set a personal best in this my 40th year.

 

I’m running in support of long-time friend and colleague Jeff Castelaz’ charity, Pablove. Three years ago Jeff personalized the reality of childhood cancer for those of us who know him and many others who do not by blogging the last days of his son Pablo, who died in 2009. Since then Jeff and Jo Ann have put the energy of that pain into Pablove, raising money for childhood cancer research and programs such as Pablove Shutterbugs to improve the lives of children living with cancer.

 

Today’s 30,000 step, 21 mile outing was just 3% of the 600 miles I’ve run since November preparing for this race. After the 16 mile run my left knee revolted and it took me a month to convince it this would be possible. Even though I’ve been running shorter distances steadily the past five years, training for the marathon distance wasn’t easy and to be honest it wasn’t until today that I was sure I’d be able to complete the damn thing. But yo, I just ran 20 miles. And it wasn’t that hard. Barring unforeseen disasters (that’s the sound of me knocking wood) I’m running the LA Marathon in two weeks. I’m ready. I wish it was tomorrow. Let’s do this.

 

There are no shortage of great causes using the LA Marathon to raise money, but in this case it was Pablove that gave me the nudge I needed to try the marathon distance again and for that I’m grateful. Through blogging, Twitter, and Facebook I’ve managed to raise more than $5,000 for Pablove since November. Some can afford more, some less, and some may say, “I gave at the office,” which is completely fine. But if you’re so inclined, please take a moment today to support my marathon effort with a donation to Pablove by clicking the "Donate Now" button on this page.