Get Mary to the NYC Marathon

Friends and Family,

As General Manager for Team Mary, daughter of the aforementioned Mary herself, and girlfriend of elite runner Bianca Toledo—I'm here to humbly ask you all to help us get Mary to NYC to race the New York Marathon. Accompanied and pushed by Bianca, Team Mary is stoked to race the largest marathon in the world. It will be Mary's 1st and Bianca's 7th.

A little bit about Mary: my rockstar mom was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis when she was 28 years old. At the time, she was planning to hike the Appalachian Trail, but her plans were thwarted by the diagnosis. Since then, she has worked hard to keep her symptoms at bay, doing physical therapy, walking, and exercising whenever she could. With my dad Malcolm's unwavering support and love, the three of us have managed to have many fun adventures together that we are all thankful for. Adventures these days look a little different, but I'm determined to give Mom every opportunity possible for adventure, joy, and if you know her you know she loves a good old-fashioned challenge—disability be damned. Just because she can't walk, doesn't mean she can't race.

We were all thrilled when Team Mary was accepted into the marathon. (I can't help but think Bianca's track record of racing the Olympic Trials in 2020 had a little something to do with our acceptance—I know she will cringe when she reads this but it's important background information!!) Mary will be in good hands. Bianca's willingness to and enthusiasm for pushing the duo team to the finish is something I will forever be grateful for. I'm also so proud of my mom for going for it!

We're asking our community of friends and family to help make this once-in-a-lifetime experience as seamless as possible for Team Mary and their support system. Between flights, hotels, renting a mobility van, and renting the racing chair, the costs add up. (Shout out to the awesome Kyle Pease Foundation for providing us with a chair to rent!) If you're able to donate, we will send you a Team Mary t-shirt before race day—and be incredibly grateful. Thank you so much for your support, whether monetary or emotional, and we can't wait for November!

With love,

Reid Newton