As Promised...Why St. Jude Is Important To Me

December of 2010 saw me running my first big race, the St. Jude Half Marathon.  I had run in 11 or 12 other races, two that were also half marathons, but this was the first one that people from around the country and the world came to run in.  The morning was a bit cool, but not too bad for December and my nerves were running high.
Julie, my wonderful bride and cheerleader was there to carry my stuff, take pictures and give me encouragement.  My friend and running partner, Brian, was right there with me as well.  As the race started and the corrals started going, I had energy to spare.  I won't give a blow by blow of the race, but suffice it to say that nerves and pent up energy got us off to a pretty quick start (for a couple of novice runners anyway). A couple of miles in, Brian stopped to walk.  He was doing a run-walk thing at that point in his running but I wasn't so I continued on.
About 4 miles in, you get to the point of the race where you run through the St. Jude campus.  And, this, my friends is where you understand why you're there.    There's a band playing just at the entrance, then you see the road covered with chalk - pictures and messages for the runners done by the children and staff of St. Jude.  Then, you see those same kids and staff.  The kids are cheering you on, waving signs and the staff is clapping and cheering.  This is why we run it.  It's those kids that you know are fighting cancer and other diseases and are going through things that some of us can't imagine.  You leave the campus feeling a little bit lighter, a little bit stronger and a little bit more hopeful that the wonderful doctors, staff and researchers at St. Jude can continue to do their work.
So, the next year, I decided to a) run the full marathon and 2) sign up as a "Hero".  That just means that I try to raise money for the hospital.  I was also invited to join Caleb's Courage - a team of heroes led by young Caleb Waddell.  You can visit his CaringBridge page at http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/calebwaddell to see his story.  He's a great kid - I got the pleasure of meeting him the day of the marathon.

While my time in the full wasn't what I wanted it to be, I've signed up for it again.  And, obviously, I've signed up as a Hero again.  This year, I'm trying to get to $2500.00.  So, here's the part where I ask for donations, again.  Please give, any amount is helpful and will get me closer to my goal.  Remember, St. Jude never turns away a child because they can't pay.  It costs about a million dollars a day to run the hospital and research facilities and they get it all through donations.  Donations can be made here, http://heroes.stjude.org/scottsmith

As always, thanks for reading and thanks for your donations.

--Scott