Paloozathon

Project Palooza and Paloozathon by extension is a project my friends and I have put together with the aim of raising the necessary capital to put on a one of a kind, tent pole fundraising event for the Dennis A. Vaccaro Foundation by the name of Dennispalooza. For more information in regards to the project itself and about the foundation and its initiatives you can follow the links below. On this page you can find information about 'Paloozathon'.. just one of the several fundraisers initiated in pursuit of this goal. Thanks for checking it out !

projectpalooza.org

dennisavaccarofoundation.com

On the morning of November 2nd at 8:00 am, a few friends and I will run from Buoy’s in Manasquan, NJ to Hartshorne Park in the Atlantic Highlands (we’ve mapped out a route of exactly 26.2 miles from Buoy’s front door to Hartshorne Park). There is a bench there dedicated to Dennis which will serve as the end point of the run. Hartshorne was a favorite place of Dennis’ to bring his boat, to walk with the dogs or to run around in the woods with his friends. It feels only right to meet him there at the end. In parallel to the run, I have set up this GoFundMe which will collect funds to support the execution of Dennispalooza. People will be able to donate to support the realization of this event and the foundation.

Now for the fun part.. I wanted to attach a challenge, a bet if you will, to double down on our support. To do so I'll set a time based goal for the run and strive to beat that time. What I’m looking for and hoping to attract is the commitment of donors willing to match the amount raised via this GoFundMe upon the achievement of the goal.

For example, if the GoFundMe were to raise $1,000 and the time goal was achieved then the donor, or donor(s) by committee would have to match the $1,000. If the goal was not achieved, the donors would be off the hook.

To be honest about what's an ambitious goal I will share my Strava (run tracking app) account information so everyone can follow along and track the progress from now until November 2nd. Just so everyone is aware, though it is a personal goal of mine, I have never run a full marathon.

https://strava.app.link/B6HYd2Y11Ub

I'll add this for reference.. globally, the average time required to finish a marathon among men is 4 hours and 20 minutes at a pace of just over 10 minutes per mile. Again, I’ve never run a full marathon, only a few halves and none that were sanctioned. I’m going to set my goal at 3 hours and 45 minutes, an average pace of 8 minutes and 35 seconds per mile. I have just about 3.5 months to prepare. Along the way, If we’re feeling good and gaining support we’ll move the goalpost and add some additional layers to the challenge. For now, I and we, have something to strive for.

Hopefully, we can get some steam behind this thing and garner the resources necessary to further the vision, to see Dennispalooza come to life. All money raised will be directed to the Dennis A. Vaccaro Foundation and used to facilitate the execution of Dennispalooza.

So if you’d like to support you can donate, follow along or spread the word. If you or someone you know is willing to take on the match, please reach out to me on instagram @yimmymurph31.

Along the way I'll post some updates on training, fundraising milestones, donor commitments, sponsorships and general thoughts or ideas pertaining to this project.

Thank you to everyone who even took the time to read this and thank you in advance to anyone who supports myself, the project and the Dennis A. Vaccaro Foundation.

See you all at Dennispalooza