The last marathon I ran was Boston 2018.  As you can see from the picture, we didn't have the most pleasant weather that day.  In fact, it was downright awful.  So much so that elites (with their absurdly low body fat percentages) were dropping like flies.  So much so that by the time I got to the Brookline/Boston part of the course, the only spectators were extremely drunk college students who probably didn't even notice the fact that they were being pelted by an icy rain.  It was the toughest athletic challenge I had ever faced, but I kept thinking of why I was running and who I was running for.  And when I crossed the finish line and heard the announcer call my name and congratulate me on my fundraising for Children's Hospital, suddenly it didn't matter that I had lost feeling in both my legs.

I'm not sure if I will ever run the Boston Marathon again.  But I am sure that I want to continue to run to support Children's Hospital as long as I can. So in order to entice myself to get back out there this year, I picked a spring race in a slightly more temperate city:  Paris.  I mean there is a whole song about April in Paris, so it has to be nice... right?  But more important than the stellar pre-race carb-loading and the post-race "I deserve this designer handbag" shopping I expect will take place, I am thrilled to have the opportunity to be a part of the Children's team again.  

My family, like so many families out there, has spent a lot of time navigating the healthcare system, over the past few years in particular. Sometimes we probably take for granted the fact that we have access to the best hospitals in the world right here in our home town. Children's Hospital has been named the #1 children's hospital in the country by U.S. News and World Report for the past 6 years in a row now, and is celebrating it's 150th anniversary of being on the cutting edge of innovation and discovery to improve the lives of children and their families.  It is a place where people come from all over the world to get the best medical care possible, and yet it remains a community hospital that takes care of the underserved and uninsured.  And on a personal note, it is where my incredible and tireless doctor sister spends her nights in the ER and her days researching traumatic brain injury.  

I know there are many worthy causes out there, and hope that you will support me in this one that is so near and dear to my heart.