On October 30th, 2011, I will be running the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC for the third time. The first time I ran the race was in 1996, and the second time was in 2004 right after Jerry and I were married. The first time, right out of college, I overtrained. The second time, newly married and fresh from our honeymoon, we seriously under trained. Both times I had the same result. Finished in 4:50 and 4:53. Seriously, "bonked", ran out of gas, tossed my cookies, saw stars, however you want to phrase it my body crashed at mile 21. Walked, jogged, and stumbled to the finish line.
The Third time should be the charm. I am much smarter and emotionally stable and desire only to finish while still feeling "well". By training with a group, fueling my body during runs, and having a reason to run I hope to accomplish my goal.
Enter Team Travis. I am running this marathon with a group called Team Travis which is an offshoot of the Travis Manion Foundation. Travis Manion was a marine who graduated from the Naval Academy in 2004. In 2007, on his SECOND tour in Iraq Travis was killed in action. Please visit http://www.travismanion.com/ for more inspiring information about this young man. To add to the story, Travis' roomate from the academy, Brendan Looney, was killed in a helicopter crash in Afghanistan this past fall. Travis and Brendan were born leaders, soldiers, and best friends. They were laid to rest side by side at Arlington National Cemetary this year.
Brendan Looney was a DeMatha grad and the nephew of a friend of mine from college. For many reasons this foundation resonates with me. The most resounding reason is the foundations mission to "Honor the fallen by challenging the living". I hope that you will at the very least check out this foundation and learn more about these fallen heroes and the selfless mission of their families and friends.
My goal is to raise $600 for the foundation as I train for this Marathon. If you are able and feel so inclined please help support me and the foundation with a monetary donation. More importantly, I hope you will support me and the foundation with your thoughts and prayers.
If not you, then who...
Steps for making a donation:
1. Go to http://teamtravis.com/
2. Find Marine Corps Marathon in the left hand tool bar and click "sponsor an athlete"
3. Type in Cynthia Bryl under search for a runner
4. Choose Cynthia Bryl and click sponsor
5. Make a donation
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