Hi Family and Friends!
First, I
want to thank each and every one of you for being such a strong support system
while I have been taking on this first career journey in my life. The fact that
God has blessed me to have such caring and loving people back at home helps me
get through the daily struggles of being so far away from all of you. Words
can't describe how thankful and fortunate I am to be in the position I am today
and to get the opportunities that come my way on a daily basis. In addition to
having such a strong support system at home, God has also blessed me with
people in my life that have made me more at ease about being away and have
showed more love and compassion than I would of ever imagined.
Second, I wanted to explain the reasoning behind this group email.
As you all know, I ran the St. Jude Half Marathon last year. It was by far one
of the most rewarding experiences of my life. The fact that I got to be a part
of giving back to the children of St. Jude was such an incredible feeling. Over
the past few weeks I have been in a life slump..questioning my decision to move
up here to pursue my career, if this move would actually further me into my
future path, if my hard work was really worth it, etc. I got caught in the
daily routine of doing the same thing each day and simply lost all motivation
to keep me the positive and optimistic person I try to be. I have been praying
for something to spark my motivation again.. I prayed for answers or signs to
help me get back on my feet. It was just last week on my way to work that I had
a feeling come over me to make a difference, to be grateful for what I have and
to appreciate my health and everything that I have been blessed with. I had
been debating on and off all year if I wanted to do another half-marathon since
I was not going to be home to do the St. Jude one again. I wanted to find a
race that gave back to a charity that meant something to me. I looked over the
local race schedule in New Hampshire.. all of the races were in the next 3
months so I thought for sure that they would all be full.. I told myself that
if there was one opened that it was a sign and calling that I needed to do it.
This is when I came across the Smutty Nose half marathon that will be taking
place this Sunday morning on September 30th. The race is right along the
Northeast Seacoast with beautiful scenery and the course is not that
difficult... not to mention local brewed beer, lobstah rolls and clam chowdah
that are going to be served after the torturous 13.1 miles.. talk about the
ultimate New England half- marathon. As I looked further into it, I wanted to
see what charity it benefitted..this is what sets this race apart from others.
The Smutty Nose race gives you the option to fundraise for a charity of your
choice. It is based off of others donating money for a set amount prior to the
race or a certain amount of money for however many miles you run (13.1)
After much thought, I found a charity that would mean the most to
the most people. Over the past 22 years of my life, many people in my family
and many of my friends have all been affected by the horrible disease of
cancer. We have all been affected in some way by this disease that comes in
many forms and can take the lives of our loved ones. I chose a charity that
helps save lives by
“Helping people stay well, get well, find cures, & fight back.”
I have chosen to use the generous donations that I receive to go
towards the American Cancer Society. This charity gives back to all different
types of cancer research and is dedicated to helping people who face cancer and
supports research, patient services, early detection, treatment and education
on the illness. This is my way of honoring all of the loved ones in my life who
have either lost their lives to this horrible disease or have won the battle
against it. This is my way to give back and I hope that you all will be right
behind me as I run these 13.1 miles against cancer in honor of those lives
lost, in celebration of those who have won the fight and in hope to raise
awareness and money to help find a cure.
Please feel free to forward this message on to anyone else.
"Do not
fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I
will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My
righteous right hand." - Isaiah 41:10
“For
I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things
present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else
in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.” – Romans 8:38-39
** If you would please send donations to me in NH and I will send
them all in at once. I am going to wait until a week after the race (on Sunday)
to turn everything in.. info is:
Checks
made out to:
The American
Cancer Society
Mail checks to:
Kristin
Long
42
Garrison Avenue
Apt. 214
Durham,
NH 03824
Thank
you all for loving and supporting me.
Miss you
and with all my love,
xoxoxo -
Kristin
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