The New York City Marathon is right around the corner. I’m already doing some preliminary packing & Luke is already gearing up for reunion with his favorite greenspace, Central Park.

As excited as I am about the trip, I’m anxious in a not-good way too–because my fundraising efforts have not yielded what I’d hoped for. As a member of a charity team I must raise a minimum of $3000 in order to run the racecourse; I’ve only raised a little over half of that amount thus far, with only a little over a week to go before race day on November 6th.

I’m afraid I won’t be able to participate in the marathon after an entire year of training, and what’s worse is that I feel I’ve let down my team and the firefighters I’ve been doing all of this for.

So, I’m begging here. PLEASE. If you like me enough to buy me a cup of coffee if we were at a cafe together–a drink if we were sitting on bar stools next to one another–would you seriously consider donating the cost of that cup of Joe or margarita on the rocks with salt to Team Leary Firefighters Foundation in my name?

I would be incredibly grateful, and so will the firefighters who need our help.

The average firefighter makes what the average public school teacher makes. Think about that for a minute.

Firehouses all over our country are contending with a lack of the equipment and supplies and training that they need on a daily basis. These are the folks who save our homes and places of business, our lives, day in and day out. We are a first world nation and we do not provide our teachers or our first responders with what they need to do their jobs. Their jobs that are all about serving others–us, our communities, our children and grandchildren.

Your donation is not only a cheer of support to firefighters, it’s also encouragement to me–as an athlete with a disability, who has reclaimed the name “athlete” by virtue of a recumbent trike. I overcome the challenges of pain and overwhelming fatigue every single time I put my butt in the seat and pedal. Whether that day’s ride is 7 miles or 37 miles, I’m conquering the demons of multiple sclerosis each time, every mile. I love riding, but it’s not easy; not by any means.

I would love to see my efforts making as big a difference as possible in the lives of firefighters through Leary Firefighters Foundation, and in the lives of anyone else living with illness and/or disability who might be inspired to tackle her own challenges by getting out there, getting moving, pushing her body to perform at its utmost ability despite its differences.

Thanks for any amount you’re able to donate!  And *please* share my need for more donations any way you can: via email, homing pigeon, pastel sidewalk chalk, neon spray-pained graffiti, the Telephone Game, notes passed in class, parchment letters written in invisible ink. Twitter & Facebook are good, too :0)

My About page contains all the info for my ride in the marathon, here, and my donation page lives here.

Color me mucho grateful ~~~