Monday, February 25, 2013

My running fool's mission

Yes, this embodies his personality and spirit, 100%! He's literally, my running fool!! :)


My little man is on a mission ... a mission to help raise funds to give four sweet children and young adults the ability to smile and feel beautiful and live a long and happy life without ridicule and shame. 

He's in his 3rd and final year of running for Operation Smile. Their program "Final Mile" gives elementary school-aged children the opportunity to run a "marathon". The children run 25.2 miles on their own and in after school programs. They then run the final mile (a marathon = 26.2 miles for those that don't know) at the Virginia Beach Oceanfront during the famous Shamrock Marathon weekend.

As part of the program, children can opt to raise funds for Operation Smile. Operation Smile mobilizes a world of generous hearts to heal children’s smiles and transform lives across the globe. Operation Smile’s network of volunteers work worldwide to repair childhood facial deformities including cleft lips and cleft palates. The first year, Holden raised approx $480 (enough for 2 surgeries), tand last year, he raised $785 (enough for 3 surgeries)! This year, his goal is $960... enough for FOUR (4) surgeries! He's about 41% of the way there and with only 3 weeks left, I know we can do it!

Also of mention is while the goal is to run 25 miles on your own (or at school), Holden has made it his personal goal to run 100 miles before the Final Mile race on March 16th. He is currently at 78 miles ran!!! He will surpass his 100 mile goal by race day, the question at this point, is by how much. Care to hazard a guess?!?!


If you care to donate to his fundraising page, go to:

Running for miles and smiles!

No donation is too small! We appreciate every single donation! Our plan is to send thank you cards with a picture of him running the race to every person/family that donates, providing I can get a good shot of him running this year! :)

Please help him make it to his $960 goal and help four beautiful children gain the beautiful smile that so many of them have longed for.

THANK YOU IN ADVANCE!!

Also, Holden will be running his 2nd 8K - last year he ran it in 52:16! He's hoping to PR with a sub-45:00 time. We'll see! If you're in the VA Beach area the weekend of St Patrick's Day, come on down to the Oceanfront and cheer on all the runners! I promise, you will be inspired!