I am going to sidetrack from my running advice and stories and just talk a little about what has been going on with our fundraising efforts for The One Fund as part of the Boston 2014 team.   This week we really got things rolling.  On Tuesday night we had our first event at the Flatbread Company in Portsmouth.  The place was absolutely mobbed and you could not get a table for about 2 hours.  We had every seat at the bar from 6 to 9.  There were many old friends, new friends, relatives, Waterline employees, an ex-employee who is famous for eating pizza and a whole bunch of people who we didn’t know but helped out just by eating the pizza that night.  I cannot thank the people from Flatbread Company enough.  They were the friendliest group and the food was great.

The raffles and silent auction were a huge success and raised over $2,000.00 alone.  This would not have been possible without all the generous donations from many of our subcontractors and vendors as well as the Waterline Employees.   It never ceases to amaze me how people can “step up” when there is a good cause.  Just jump over to our Facebook page to see how many people donated items, and it is so clear just how many people were so instrumental in making Tuesday such a great and successful night!  I would like to take this time now to point out just a few that have just gone overboard.   Waterworks Supply Inc. has donated sets of tickets to several events, and the auction or raffle values of their donations are in the thousands.  Thank you to everyone at Waterworks Supply, and especially to you Wally, for not only donating the tickets but then coming to Flatbread and bringing your wife and daughter.

Then I would be remiss in not pointing out the relatives.   It was Gina Haydock who had the idea to have the Flatbread night, set up the raffles and auction and then spent the night before baking the cupcakes and cookies.   Erika Dumke flew up from Richmond, VA for 20 hours to be at the event.  Maria assisted with the raffle and auction setup and let me out on a school night.

To say that the event was just local would not be accurate either.  We had wreaths donated from Faye in Florida and a grilling set made out of old hockey sticks from California.  We had to throw out the scorpions that Beth sent from China.

Tuesday was only the start to a week filled with events for The One Fund.  On Thursday, Maria and I went to an event in Boston that was hosted by John Hancock so all the runners could meet the people who run The One Fund.  There were runners, dignitaries and victims and families in attendance and all for one reason – to help everyone heal.

The gentlemen from the Boston Police Department summed it up perfectly when asked a question about the security:  “We want this to be the family event that is has always been in the past.”  I don’t think he even realized what he had said when he said it.  The Boston Marathon is about family, and the family is all of Boston and what the Marathon stands for.  For many people that run the marathon, it is the end of a quest or dream.  They wanted to run the Boston Marathon and trained to run a marathon in order just to qualify for Boston, and now it is time to run Boston.  For someone else, it may have been a goal to raise money for a favorite charity, and then trained enough to run 26.2 miles.  For the husband, wife, boyfriend, girlfriend, daughter or son who had watched an important person in their life, run in the snow, rain, sun only to hobble around the house grunting and groaning and wondering why that person has the desire to keep going.  It is because they want to be part of the family.

There was a whole table of quilts on Thursday that were made by people all over New England and sent to The One Fund to use as they see fit.  There was a wonderful card explaining how a quilt is made to comfort people, and these quilts were made and donated to make the people of Boston comfortable.  I thought to myself – why would someone make a quilt and send it to The One Fund?  Then I got it.  This is how they run the marathon…they spent hours and hours making these quilts, just like a runner spends hours and hours running to train for the marathon.  While our team of 50 One Fund runners is out training for the marathon, there will be many people making quilts to help comfort those that have been hurt.

Another one to note from Thursday is Cathy’s Creations.  Cathy has donated to every one of the 50 One Fund runners one of her Boston Strong jewelry items.   Cathy has made a life out of helping others, and if you have the chance, you should take a look at her website to get the full picture of what she has done to help others.  She has put together clothing packages and blankets and left them on the park benches in Boston with a note telling the homeless that this package is for them and that someone cares about them.  Cathy is definitely a member of the family.

One last thing, the marathon is not just on Monday April 21^st.  It is really a week-long event.  There will be a memorial service on 4-15-14 to remember the one year anniversary of the Boston Marathon bombing tragedy with a flag raising ceremony to follow.  Over the weekend there will be a 5k run and 1 mile walk/run, and then the expo will be starting on Friday and will go through Monday.   So, even if you cannot be there on Marathon Monday, go to one of these events and be a part of the Boston Marathon Family.

And as always, don’t forget to get up and go for a run….