Updated Cause: NYC Marathoner Raises over $25K with Fundraise.com - A Personal Thank You to Supporters
Dear Friends,
Well it has been over a week and I can finally say that I am officially no longer sore! I was definitely feeling it for the better part of the week. Being on a plane they day after the run was definitely brutal. However despite the soreness, the purple toenail (I think that one may be a goner) and the pure exhaustion of last week, it was all so very much worth it.
For those scoring at home I did officially finish the marathon. It took me 16,542 seconds…or 4 hours, 35 minutes and 42 seconds. My goal time was to break 4:30 so I missed that by about 5 minutes. However, I did not care as the energy and the people of NYC lifted me higher than any time goal could have- what an amazing experience!!
Once again I wanted to thank each and every one of you who donated to help my friend Dan and his family. We raised over $25,000!!!!!!!! Unbelievable! I was honored to run for this cause and was truly humbled by the outpouring of support and love that was shown by everyone. We have done a great thing for a great family that really needed our help. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!!!
I could not have completed this journey without everyone’s support. I was buoyed even higher with the surprise support that I received along the race. For those of you that did not know, Dan and Erin (Dan’s wife) were in NYC for the big day. Erin was a woman on a mission and she along with Dan orchestrated a rally of support along the race route. There were several dozen people (friends and family) along the way that came out to support my effort. They had signs made (see pictures) along the route with different sayings of support for me:
“Hey Ken: .1% of 1% of people are doing what your are doing right now” –Dan
And my personal favorite:
“Hey Ken: “You think endurance training is tough, try chemo!”- Dan
It was uplifting to see the signs and the people that were supporting me along the way. I am still amazed at Erin’s ability to show up at different parts of the race and make herself visible—-you would swear she ran the race as well! Thank you to everyone who came out to show your support for the run- it was more helpful to me than you will ever know
Finally, believe it or not, crossing the finish line was only the second best thing to happen on this day. While I will never forget that moment for sure, the thing I will cherish forever was the moment I walked into the restaurant where 20+ people, friends and family awaited my arrival (a complete surprise to me) and cheered and clapped for me. We proceeded to celebrate for several hours after the race, and it was something I will never forget. Being able to spend that time with Dan, Erin and all those people was just awesome! Thank you to everyone that made that possible—it was a very special moment and something I will carry with me forever.
Including the marathon I have logged over 625 miles of running for this cause. I could not have done it without all of you. Thank you once again for your generosity, your love and your support. I would never have been able to cross the finish line without each and every one of you.
With much love,
Kenny
Sterling Minsky is an amazing little boy. At the age of 7 months old, he was diagnosed with Rhabdomyosarcoma. In August, he received clear scans after 6 mos of chemo under the supervision of an awesome team at Sloan Kettering in New York.