More team members and a cool chat with some US Marines

I am fortunate to have some great people helping me along with this adventure. Really fortunate!  I will likely not be able to repay them for the kindness...simple and repeated thanks will have to do. 

I have some new MRAM (My Run Across America!) team members...

I recently chatted with John Glover, owner of Charleston Bicycle Company (CBC)and Mark Nowling, one of John's go to guys about my adventure. CBC was the first place I went in Charleston when I got interested in triathlon and I have maintained a loose communication with John through the years.  John and Mark are accomplished endurance athletes...Mark in ultra distance running and John in cycling and Ironman tri.  CBC employees are very active in the Charleston, SC community as activists for bike safety and other charitable causes.  John and Mark were really fired up about the run and came up with a ton of ideas to help me raise awareness. 

CBC has offered to help me raise money for Freedom is Not Free by lighting up a kick off party at one of the stores at the start of the event, provide links to my blog from their site/Facebook page and also drum up some local support for the first day!  Stay tuned for more info as this gets closer, but I am really appreciative of CBC and want to point as many people in the Charleston area to CBC...they are good people.

Also..

Carolyn Hardy, who is graciously helping me by contacting running clubs and universities along the way for support informs me that our first university cross country team has signed up to run with me. The ladies Cross Country team of Mid Western State University will be joining me in Wichita Falls, Texas. Go Mustangs!!!  I will likely get my legs handed to me.  But it will not be the first time I got chicked on a run.  (ewwww...you just got passed by a girl!!!!)

And...

On to the Marines. I recently had a chance to spend some quality time with some marine veterans and actives. They had heard about my run through some family connections and were interested in talking about it with me.  Honestly, I was floored, absolutely floored by the gratitude I genuinely felt coming from them that I would tie my run to Freedom is Not Free. One of them had been injured and was still on a waiting list for surgery through the VA system to repair damage...and he could not afford to pay the $20,000 out of his pocket to get it done outside of the military system. Our young men and women deserve better.  This is really motivating me to donate "miles".  All of them shook my hand and one of them said what I was doing was totally "BAD ASS".   As he is a guy who went through the marines and spent some time doing real BAD ASS hero stuff....I did not feel worthy of his compliment.  It made me feel good none the less.

Finally...

My wife/best friend and I were sitting on the coach last night watching the Giants beat the Braves.  We were chatting about March and I think it finally hit her that the run was only 140 days or so away.  I am not sure if she was excited or scared...or that might have been me with those thoughts!

155 miles for the month! On to 400 for the month.

E