277 Miles....plus some

What started out as a jaunt to Las Vegas by myself....to prove to myself that I could make plans alone....I was capable of being the strong, independent woman my father raised me to be.....became a 277 mile journey...

13.1 down the Vegas strip...

13.1 around a speed skating rink in Wisconsin....

26.2 through the streets of LA and Santa Monica in a monsoon....

13.1 alongside a dear LIVESTRONG friend up and over the three rivers in Pittsburgh....

13.1 into 40 MPH winds with the Big 10 Illini fans cheering me on.....

16 biking as the middle leg of the LIVESTRONG Chics 3rd annual triathlon relay....

13.1 at a black flagged inaugural Summerfest Half in Milwaukee....

45 miles in the rain up and down the hilly Philly countryside.....

20 miles in the shadows of Mt Hood to dip my toes in the Pacific Ocean over 30 hours with 5 new LIVESTRONG BFF's - and leaving behind roadkill.....

13.1 making new friends as I traveled from Illinois to Iowa and back again.....with a stop for the best milkshake I have ever had as my reward....


 65 miles through Texas Hill Country with my incredible LIVESTRONG friend - and fellow honorary sheriff...

...not before I rode alongside Lance Armstrong - a private ride donated to me by some very cool cancer-hating friends

and finally......26.2 rocking a Movember MO through the 5 boros of NYC.....alongside some amazing cancer-hating LIVESTRONG runners.

Since last December....277 miles ran and biked to benefit LIVESTRONG....to honor those who ran out of time and we lost to cancer.....to honor those still putting up a gallant fight to cancer.....and those still at our side as survivors having knocked cancer out.

279 miles if we count the 2 miles I floated through the air after jumping out of a plane above the cornfields in Central Illinois.  And countless more miles training.....

No, I didn't exactly meet my goal of a half marathon each month - I missed February because of conflicts and had one scheduled for June but it was the same day I dropped my daughter off at Camp Kesem - a camp for kids that have or had a parent with cancer.....I think very valid reasons.....but I still surpassed my original goal of 200 miles......TAKE THAT CANCER!

I cannot thank each and everyone of you enough for your support this past year.  The friendships I created throughout this experience - from the two new friends I met on the plane ride to Vegas to the two I met in the corral on State Island...and all in between.  You all inspired me to keep going when times got rough this year.

Oh, and let's not forget the close to $11,500 raised for LIVESTRONG.  WOW!

And to top it all off, I was selected as the Pan The Man SUPERLATIVE winner for the month of July and was honored to be used as a widow that defines thriving in the video created  below by Embrace Life Winner, Michelle Neff Hernandez.

I've been asked quite a bit what's next.  Well, I've taken a few weeks off to rest and back at it this weekend.

Maybe cycle more?  Maybe tackle more local events?  Maybe hula hoop a few 5Ks with the cancer hating red head?

What do you all think?  What should I do in 2012 to support my LIVESTRONG fundraising efforts?  What do you want to see me accomplish??

But what should I do for 2012?

The Mustache Made Me Do It

We are just 10 days away from Movember.....no, that is not a typo. 

During November each year, men across the world grow mustaches - using their faces to raise money and awareness for mens health, specifically prostate cancer and other cancers that affect men.  Last year alone, Movember raised over $80 million which was then donated to various prostate cancer organizations around the world - including $3 million to LIVESTRONG.


Check out this video the history behind this groups efforts:
Behind the Moustache: The Movember Story | Break.com


Those that participate are MoBros.  There are plenty of women that want to support the cause because we love our MoBros.  I have lost two important men in my life to cancer - my father and my husband - and my father-in-law was recently diagnosis.

 I can't grow a Mo (the Australian lingo for a mustache) BUT I can certainly glue one on!

To support this important cause I've decided to make my little jog through the streets of NYC a little more interesting.  I'll be running the NYC Marathon in support of both LIVESTRONG and Movember.  I'll be sporting my yellow Team LIVESTRONG shirt while wearing a fake mustache.

But which mustache should I wear?  That I will let you all decide.


Below are several mustache designs.  Pick your favorite and made a donation in the amount referenced next to the design.  Donations can be made on my Movember page using this link:  Pick a Mustache for Barb

The most popular dollar amount donated ($25, $20, $15 or $5) will determine the winning Mo.

And of course, if you'd like to make an additional donation to support my efforts for LIVESTRONG and my final race of my "Coast to Coast" Tour, please do so here:
Support Barb's RunningSTRONG for Hope to benefit LIVESTRONG  


$25




$20



$15




$5