Hello,

I read Steve Gleason's book, and he made me want to be a better person. He is an amazing human who has faced (and is still living with) incredible adversity, and through it, has developed an outlook on life that I deeply admire. He is a strong advocate for focusing one's life on love, gratitude, and service to others.

His story made me want to challenge myself, to introduce some adversity to my life, and to take advantage of what my body can (hopefully!) do while it still works. So I signed up for my first ever marathon. I started training in late February, and since then have run more than 700 km in preparation for the Ottawa Race Weekend Marathon this coming Sunday!

It would make me incredibly happy if running this marathon was more than just a challenge for me, but an opportunity to do some good in the world! I would love to support Steve's charity, Team Gleason, but they are based in the US, so were not available as a fundraising choice through Ottawa Race Weekend. So I've chosen the ALS Society of Canada, who also do excellent work. If you'd like to make a donation, I would be very grateful!

If you are not familiar with Steve Gleason's story, you can learn a bit about it in the video below. I highly recommend reading his book :)

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.

Thanks!!!

Kristin