Crossing the Finish Line, Putting Children First

My wife and I first decided to run the New York City Marathon after watching our brother finish the race in 2010.  Since then, it’s been a long journey to get to the finish line.  After running nine qualifying races in 2011, the 2012 marathon was canceled due to Hurricane Sandy.  And last year, I started the race but had an ankle injury that forced me to stop at mile 16.  While I had a lot of personal reasons to finish what I started this year, I also recognized that the marathon is bigger than any individual achievement.

I was drawn to raise money for the U.S. Fund for UNICEF because of my experiences as a  public health professional.   My career has taken me to some of the most resource-poor settings  in the world, from Zambia to South Sudan.  The most agonizing aspect of my work is seeing  how poverty, weak systems, and a lack of basic services affect the most vulnerable members of  society – children.   Once I decided to use my marathon journey as a vehicle for good, choosing  the U.S. Fund as my charity was an easy decision based on UNICEF’s excellent track record when it comes to impact and efficiency.

Raising $3,500 seemed like a daunting task, but I was overwhelmed by the generosity of my friends and family.  To reach my goal, I simply sent regular emails to my contacts asking for their help.  I also included information about UNICEF’s work around the world and updates on my training progress.  Needless to say, I was overjoyed when I discovered I had raised $5,080 by the fundraising deadline.

Race day was both literally and figuratively a whirlwind.  After spending the morning with my fellow Team UNICEF runners in the charity village, I started the 26.2 mile course battling through brutally windy and cold conditions.  Though I felt good through the first half of the race, the weather started to take its toll on my body on the 59^th Street Bridge, the same place where I decided to drop out of the race last year.  But this year, I knew that nothing was going to prevent me from getting to the finish line. I was injury-free, and I had the moral support of all my friends and family that had generously donated to my cause to propel me through the last 10 miles of the race.  I also had a small army of family members waiting for me in Harlem, which helped, too.

Crossing the finish line in Central Park was an amazing moment.  I had struggled through the last several miles and finished nowhere near my goal time, but I didn’t care.  I had finally achieved my dream of finishing the New York City Marathon!  And knowing that I was also able to do my small part in providing children with the clean water, food, medicines, vaccines, and protection they need to survive made it that much more special.