My Sport Relief Mile – My First 2010 Race for CMTA STAR

This Sunday I am doing the Sport Relief Mile – my first race of 2010, and unlike the name, for me it will be a three miler.  It feels so good to be “starting” 2010.  I have spent a lot of time since my last race of 2009 (September, at La Parisienne) working on leg strength and better form, and healing.  I am not quite there yet with the distance, but I am ready to see how I feel in a race environment.  Yep, gotta find my race belt.  Didn’t manage to get new shoes in time, so gonna run in the old ones (not good to break in new shoes on race day, right?).  Doing my usual “pray for sun” but I fully expect clouds and rain.  But I’m not gonna let any stinking rain stand in my way on Sunday.I’m ready to run.  Well, to run 2 out of the 3 miles – that is the plan, and I am not going to break the plan.  Not this time.  I’m also not going to worry one iota about time.  This is a race to check how I am coping with distance.  To detect the niggles and things to keep working on.  To take one step closer to my goal of a 10k by August.In 2010 I am dedicating all of my races to raise funds for the CMTA STAR initiative.  For anyone so inclined to support me and to support a cause close to my heart, I am fundraising to find a cure for CMT1A, the progressive degenerative nerve disease which I have (along with about 1 in 5000 people in the world).  A lot of people with CMT cannot run – it is for all of us that I am running.  If you would like to support my fundraising for CMT1A, please click through to the secure giving site provided for my STAR fundraising efforts.And as the run is for Sport Relief, if you would rather make a donation to Sport Relief UK, you can also do so via my Sport Relief fundraising page.  Sport Relief is raising funds for three major areas in 2010:  street and working children; local UK initiatives; and malaria. As always, thank you for your support.  And, if you have any questions about CMT1A – what it is, how I am impacted, anything at all – feel free to post these as comments to this entry and I will reply.  I will do my best to answer any questions (and to ask the experts for input for any hard questions that I can’t answer)!Let’s hope I am smiling like this at the finish line on Sunday!

3 responses to “My Sport Relief Mile – My First 2010 Race for CMTA STAR”

  1. Hi Dana, Wow!  I don’t really know where to begin! The funny thing is that I still don’t really think of myself as an athlete.  I think of myself as someone who does triathlon as a way to keep fit and strong, a way to stay motivated, and a way to redefine my personal boundaries and limits.  I honestly 100% believe that everyone can do sport – as long as they have a smart approach and good achievable objectives.  I may not participate at an elite level – a sub 2 hour 30 minute triathlon will not be my reality.  But the fact is that I participate.  I stick with it, I work on small and incremental goals, and I keep safe and healthy while doing sport.  I do so with the support of great people – near and far, in person and over the email, doctors, physios, friends and family alike. I thank you so much for your support, and for being a part of CMTA and helping to support so many others. Stay tuned for my report on Monday following the run! With best wishes,Donna

  2. Donna,You are an amazing athlete and an inspiration to everyone, whether or not they have CMT. Thank you so much for all that you are doing on behalf of the quest to find treatments and a cure.With your help, and the help of the people who support you, we will do it!And we’ll all be smiling when you finish on Sunday.Good luck and good health,Dana SchwertfegerCMTA Director of Member Services

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