I have made
a bold decision to run my very first marathon in one of the most iconic cities
in the world, New York, and I am asking for your support to secure my
entry by fundraising for Team for Kids charity and achieve my dream. There
is no easy way to enter the race:
- Run for a charity you love & fundraise $2,500 - which is my case this year :)
- Enter the ballot – which I did, but wasn't lucky enough to be picked. Only 9% chances!
- Qualify based on time – my performance is good, but far from extraordinary…
Just to give
you a brief idea about my history with running, I used to get the
giggles when I saw people sweating like a pig while running. However, the story
completely changed last year when I had to have a varicose veins surgery at the
age of 28 and realizing that my lifestyle wasn't healthy at all. Since then I
made a big commitment to be healthy, full of vitality and surgery-free
for the rest of my life while running for fun and joining endurance running
events around the world. The last 10 months I have completed 3
half-marathons in the UK (Aintree, Tatton Park, Heaton Park) and one
international in Gothenburg, Sweden.
I have
learned the lesson the hard way myself and I am really excited to prevent kids
from having challenging health experiences by helping them build
healthy habits from a young age while lowering the risk of
childhood obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other chronic conditions.
For this
reason, I will be running the 2019 TCS New York City Marathon with
Team for Kids and a bunch of 100+ crazy peeps. Team for Kids is a
team of adult runners who raise funds for critical services provided by New
York Road Runners (NYRR) youth programs. These programs empower
youth development and encourage healthy lifestyle via
running and character-building programs across the country.
Making a
donation is easy and takes only 2 minutes! You can scroll down on this page
or click on the Donate button to complete my secure fundraising page. You can
also find information about where to send a check, or how to get your company
to match your gift (https://www.runwithtfk.org/Page/CheckDonationsandMatchingGiftInformation). All contributions are tax
deductible.
Your giving helps New York Road Runners youth programs:
- Serve nearly 250,000 students nationwide - including 125,000 in New York City's five boroughs - through free NYRR youth running programs, events, and resources.
- Engage students in long-term athlete development (LTAD), a lifelong journey that guides an individual's experience in sports and physical activity to develop healthy minds and bodies for life.
- Help build the next generation of athletes by supporting coaches, educators, and fitness leaders with the tools they need to make a difference.
Whether you
are a runner, have worked with children or have kids yourself, I hope you will
join me to further this great cause!
Please share with family and friends if you feel that the cause or/and my story is compelling to you :)
See you at
the finish line!
Many thanks,
Panos