Today was our first rest day! We took the train into Chicago with Mary (our host) and her kids and explored! The train had 2 floors which was really cool. When we went to the train station, we had a hard time finding a place to park because it was all permit parking, but we ran into a police officer and he said we could park there and let the other officer know! (The town is so small that there literally is only 2 of them!) We saw the bean and the lake together and then I parted to meet up with my friend and half sister! I met with them for lunch and it was really nice catching up with both of them. I had a chicken sandwich for lunch and it was sooo delicious! After lunch, we walked to TJ Max and I got a new pillow. This one looks like a sun and seems like it will be a lot more comfortable than my camp pillow so I am really excited about it. Tonight I have an actual pillow from Mary so I'll test it out tomorrow. After that, I met back up with my team at the train station and we took the train back to Mary's house. Mary made some delicious tacos and we all got to fit at one table for dinner and talk. After dinner we started looking at where we needed hosts because we're still looking for some! We're going to do some calling ahead to make sure we have a place to stay. If you know anyone in the areas below that could host either 7 or 32 people (with the bike riders it would be 32), please let me know!
After that we decided why not get more ice cream so we jumped in the van and got some more ice cream. We also cranked up the music and sang as loud as possible with the kids. We did this last night too and it was definitely emotional singing fight song and best day of our lives (the song that they listen to when Mary comes home from chemo). I am definitely going to miss Mary and her family. They were beyond amazing and I felt so loved here. Mary is so strong and loving and hearing her story was yet another reason why every mile matters and why we're going all the way across the country. (I'm hoping to add more photos tomorrow when we get them from our host!)
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Today was a driving day for me so I got to rest and drive the van (for over 4 hours ah). We made it to Chicago (or close to it) and crossed through our first time zone! Everyone did 10 miles today. We also got our first donation from a random person driving by our van and seeing our venmo so that was really cool. They also honked at us when they passed us! On our way here we got stuck in traffic but it wasn’t too bad. There were a lot of 18-wheelers so that was interesting driving with them but we made it! We also passed a lot of wind turbines – and I mean tons! It was so crazy but really cool to see. Now we’re at our host and she made us dinner, so we were able to eat with them! After our dinner, she showed us around her super cool house that used to be an old 1876 general store and now they use it as their house and homestead! Our host, Mary, also shared her story about cancer. She has a rare cancer that only 1 in 600 people get a year. She was given 5 years to live, but is still alive now and we have the great opportunity to meet with her! She shared that of the 600 people who were diagnosed with her cancer that year, she was the only one to live and the year after no one survived. She has 3 daughters (8,9, and 10) and part of the reason she hosts 4K is so her daughters can see that she is loved and that people want to make a difference. It also gives her daughters a huge support group of 4k alumni that will be with them when she is no longer here. She doesn’t think she’ll see them at our age, so having us is something that makes her so happy. After we got to see the house, the girls showed us their favorite park and then we went and got ice cream! We met a group of people there and shared with them what we were doing and they took a picture and wanted to share on Facebook. We had such an amazing evening with Mary and her daughters and I can’t wait to continue to get to know her and her girls. Tomorrow is rest day so we get to spend more time with our host and we’re heading into Chicago to visit the city! Last night was a good night sleep, but tonight we get bunk beds so I’m excited! Today was a tough day emotionally for some reason, but we got it down and had some extra down time tonight. Our host last night was amazing! She gave us all bags with snacks and wipes to take with us on our journey and her dog was adorable. I got a really great sleep on the couch and am not looking forward to going back to the floor today haha. I dedicated today to my grandma again and our host’s dad named Ralph who unfortunately passed away. Today we ran 8.5 miles in 3 legs and there was a trail on our way that was long enough we were able to do all our miles there. On one of the runs, we ran into a stray dog which was a little scary, but the dog ignored us and it was okay. We also got to run by a train and see it cross the road which was fun! Today felt like it went by really fast. We crossed into Indiana as well and are staying at a church tonight. It is really nice and we were able to take a good shower too :) For lunch, we called a couple of places, but didn’t have much luck so we ended up using a $9 gift card we had and the venmo money with the venmo we put on the back of our van. We had lots of bread and peanut butter and other things that our host from yesterday gave us so we just bought some jelly, turkey, and cheese. I decided on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and it was very good! We got to our host around 4, which is earlier than its been so that was very nice! For dinner, Mary’s parents (my teammate) dropped off some delicious dinner for us to eat and we got to meet with them. They brought Qdoba and I had a little taco, some rice, and queso! Tonight we might stop by a place Mary wanted to show us and then come back and get to bed for a 10 mile day tomorrow. If you're interested in more of what our days looks like, my teammate Dan has been vlogging pretty much everything! He posts it on his youtube channel each day. Feel free to check it out with the button below. Day 2! Today we went from Pittsburgh to Columbus, OH. We did lots of driving again, but we all ran 10 miles today. I ran with Sydney, Max, and Mary through some trails in Pittsburgh and Ohio. On our runs we thankfully had lots of shade and some beautiful sites. We also were lucky to have a port-a-potty on the side of the trail so we could all stop quickly. Today I dedicated my miles to a close family friend, Bill, who is part of the reason I decided to do 4K and someone named TJ who is currently at the Ulman House and going to hospice shortly. His family also donated to our run so as a team we wanted to do something special and dedicate our day to TJ. For lunch, we found a food truck on the side of the road and when we shared with him what we were doing he shared that we could all pick anything on the menu! We decided to order hotdogs since that was the cheapest thing and then he also gave us fries to share. It was very good! Tonight, we met with our host – Kim, who was a 4K alumni and she also provided dinner for us! We even got the chance to swim in the pool – which had a hot tub! Then she made us this delicious dinner and we were all stuffed by the end of it! We got lots of pictures together before heading back to shower and get ready for bed. We were even able to do a quick load of wash! I am so tired again, but tomorrow we are headed to Indiana. I am very much looking forward to some sleep on the couch with a real pillow :) I'm living the luxurious life tonight! Day one was so fun but I am so tired! Since we’re doing some extra miles on the road to catch up with the riders, we did our miles on some trails today relay style. I ran today for my wonderful grandma :) After loading the van, we got ready to head to send off and ran into the inner harbor to meet our family and friends. I am so grateful for everyone who came to support me! At the send off, we got to hear some stories and then did a dedication circle and our chant! Then, we dipped our heels in the inner harbor (we’ll do that again in San Francisco). Lastly, I got to say goodbye to my friends and family. I will definitely miss them. Today we did our first leg at a trail in Maryland and my group today was with Greta and Mary. We ran 3.5 miles for the first leg and 2.7 for the second leg in Pennsylvania. We also ran to send off and after which was about 1.2 miles to give us 7.4 miles for the day! We stopped in Elizabethtown on the way to Pittsburgh and Dominos donated 3 pizzas to us for lunch! Our second leg was on the Conewago trail so it was a familiar spot for me :) Next, we drove right to Pittsburgh to meet our host because they needed us to be there by a certain time. Once we got to Pittsburgh, we were able to meet with our host and get a tour of the church we are staying in. I was able to get a shower and meet with my best friend (Lydia) for a little bit! Some of the runners went to Panera Bread and Olive Garden and we got some donations for dinner! It was very good :) We met with a 4K alumni, Caitlin, who donated some snacks and drinks to us for the road! We also got to talk with her and hear her stories from her time with 4k. Now I am more than ready for bed! We’re about to have a team meeting and then get some sleep for another busy day tomorrow heading to Ohio! Today was day 2 of orientation! When we arrived at Ulman House this morning we got ready for our training run and first run together as a team (5 miles)! Our run took us along the inner harbor to Fort McHenry. It was a beautiful run :) A little hot, but it was perfect!
After our run, we got some snowballs (Basically a snow cone) and I got pink lemonade! Then we got some lunch and brought it back to Ulman House. We have 2 alumni with us right now and they shared what to expect and some tips! One will be with us through tomorrow and another alumni stays with us until Wednesday so we can get the hang of 4k with someone who has done it before. After lunch, we figured out the first aid kit and what is going in our van and then decorated it! It was a lot of fun and I'm sure I'll have more of those photos later. Lastly we got our gear!! I'm so excited to take lots of pictures in my Ulman gear so you will definitely see it. We don't have anything for orientation tonight so I'll be getting dinner at my favorite restaurant (in Baltimore) with my mom, stepdad, and Will (boyfriend). I also have to get to bed early for the first early morning tomorrow with 4k!! First stop, Pittsburgh. Today was orientation and I got to meet my team in person! Everyone is so nice and I am really excited for this adventure. At orientation we got a tour of the Ulman House, went over some key things we needed to know for the run, and practiced asking for donations. There isn't really anything exciting to share today except that I got to meet everyone. Tomorrow will be a little more exciting with orientation before the send off!
Tonight was our send off dinner with family and friends! I was able to bring my mom, stepdad and my boyfriend. We had some delicious dinner and my family got to meet my teammates. We also got to hear a story of someone who was personally impacted by the Ulman Foundation and the strong impact the foundation and the connections he made through the foundation had on him during and after his cancer treatment. He encouraged us for our run and gave us an even stronger why for our purpose of running across the country. Tonight we get some rest for our training run tomorrow and some other exciting things :) Orientation starts tomorrow!! I honestly can’t believe it is actually here - it has been such a long time waiting! A couple of weeks ago I reached my goal of $15,000 ($15,151 to be exact). I am so incredibly grateful for all of you and your amazing support! I can say for sure I wouldn't have been able to do it without you! I’ve been doing lots of running and am so excited to get started and meet my team!
I also will be the director of the team this summer and we will meet with the bike riders and run with them as well in the beginning of July! (It will make our little team bigger!) We will be heading through these states:
Feel free to comment any exciting places we should look for along the way in those states! Also, if you are interested in attending the send off ceremony in Baltimore this Sunday or the welcome ceremony in San Francisco on August 13th, please reach out and we can send you details! My plan is to blog at least something every day - it might not always make it to Facebook, so check here first. We’ll see how it goes, but I’m not sure what to expect yet. There will also be some nights with no internet, so you’ll get 2 days in one sometimes! We have orientation tomorrow and Saturday and then we start running Sunday morning! I’ve already had the opportunity to talk to some of the people we will meet along the way and I’m so excited! Honestly right now it still isn’t feeling real. I also wanted to take a moment to appreciate all the companies that donated this year to help me reach my goal. They are all amazing companies both near Elizabethtown and Chester Springs - make sure to check them out! I have a list of all of them under the 4k tab on my blog. I also want to give a shout out to my team at work! They have given me so much support that I couldn’t stop smiling for a long time. From them allowing me to take all this time off, to my actual coworkers and boss that wished me well and made me feel valued on my last couple of days of work - I am so thankful and look forward to telling them all about it in person when I return as a full time employee!! If you don’t already, make sure to follow 4K for Cancer on Facebook and Instagram to see even more photos and of course I will try and post as much as possible! If you ever want to send a text or message, feel free to do that as well! I might not respond right away, but I will definitely get to it. Just as a reminder of how 4k works in case you forgot - we’ll be running as a team relay style across the country. So I’ll run 2-3 miles at a time with a teammate and then get in the van to wait my turn to go again! We also take turns driving our van so we’ll have lots of built in rest days as well :) We run 6-16 miles each everyday throughout the trip and we have a tiny team of 7 people - but once we meet up with the bike riders we will grow and meet up with them each evening at our host. If you live in any of the states we are running through and want to donate breakfast, lunch, or dinner, I can share what towns we’ll be headed through and see its possible! Everything we do is off of donations, so we wouldn’t be able to do it without amazing supporters! I am so very excited and as I write this my heart rate is rising a little bit because of how excited I am getting that it is here. I hope you’ll be able to follow along and please please feel free to share the blog posts, pictures, stories, and everything with your friends because this trip isn’t just for fun, but to raise awareness for young adults with cancer. |
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