My company Ipswitch has started a program called iCare. They encourage us as employees to participate in community service. I work in our Network Management (NM) division and our management team came up with the theme of Twenty4Twenty which is a program that celebrated the 20th anniversary and sets a goal for our division to commit to 20 hours of community service per NM employee over 12 months.
After this was announced I wanted to start with this goal and do something to give back to the community. I had been wanting to run another race and in the past when I have done a race I just pay my registration fee and that is it. This year I decided to pledge for the cause which was the Somerville Homeless Coalition instead of just pay the fee. I didn't know what to expected or what type of a goal to place. I decided on raising $250. I thought that was reasonable and a good amount to donate. I ended up getting a lot more support than I had expected.
Saturday morning before the race it was a bit rainy. By the time the race started the rain had stopped and it was a nice cool morning. Perfect for running in.
There were 798 total people who raced.
It was tough getting started because you couldn't hardly move, for the first 30 seconds or so all you could do was a slow walk trying to move forward.
At powder house circle in Somerville the traffic was stopped to allow the runners to pass and as we were running around the circle the drivers began to honk to encourages us all forward. Even though they don't know me and I don't know them it was nice to have the added encouragement on the way. Along the route there were many other people shouting and rooting for us to keep going and that we were doing a great job. The positive reinforcements are always a welcome thing for me during a race.
This was an extremely hilly course and I pushed myself as hard as I could. This is at the tail end of the race and I was about spent. I was glad when I saw that finish line.
I finished in 31 minutes and 5 seconds. I came in as the 575 runner. I had set a goal to be able to run the race in under 30 minutes. I didn't quite make it but I beat my over all time on this course and also faster than my race I ran a few years ago.
After the race I ran in to Amanda Loring who also ran the race. She is the wife of the VP of my division.
Mark Alston is the Executive director of the SHC. He talked a little about what they were able to do last year do to the efforts and support of the community. He then moved into the awards.
I was honored to receive the Steve Burton award for raising the most money for SHC. I was able to raise $1,635. He expressed deep gratitude for the money raised.
He shared with the audience the conversation he and I had a few days earlier when I went to pick up my race number. When they asked me my name they knew exactly who I was and how much I had raised thus far. Mark asked me if I had set a goal and I told him yes $250. I said I have never pledged before and didn't know really what to expect. I told him I have been pleased at the generosity of the people who have supported me.
I may be the one who was handed this award but this award goes to each and every one of you who supported me. I couldn't have done it without you. It is a great cause and I am grateful for everyone who supported me through your donations and also positive encouragements as I had been training for the race. I had many supporters and I am glad I had the opportunity to represent each of you as I was running. I was out there for more than just to run this time. I felt more of a drive than before because there was so much more invested and I had such an awesome support group that I wanted to Thank through a job well done and a great performance in my run. I thought this might have been my last run for an actual race but maybe this is really the first of many more to come.
A special Thanks to my friend Joe who came and supported me at the race. It also helps to know you have a familiar face at the finish line. I really enjoyed the opportunity to give back to my local community I was on a feel good high all day. It is always a great feeling when you know you have helped someone in one way or other. It really is a great thing to be able to put our focus and efforts on others. Service changes the lives of those served but probably the biggest impact is upon the life of the server.
