Kick it for Kitch - Running for Brian

Hi friends!

 

Thank you for taking the time to read this and helping support me in raising money for an amazing cause!

 

As some of you may know, a couple of years ago, I took up running. And I was not very good. I would be absolutely winded after about a minute of jogging. My calves would be so tight I could barely go down the stairs, and I would swear I would never torture myself like this again. But I did, time and time again. I put on my worn-out sneakers, and I ran around my neighborhood.

 

I took up running at a time when everything in my life felt very uncertain. I don't speak about this much, or really ever on social media. But as most of you have probably guessed, I took up running around the time my dad, Brian, was diagnosed with brain cancer.

 

Running gave me a way to channel all the anger and frustration I was feeling into something. It let me put those thoughts aside and forget what was happening outside of my head for a little while.

 

Since then, every race I have ever run, every km that felt too hard to finish, and every step that I thought I just couldn't take, I have chosen to run for him. Because I know the fight he made was far greater than any fight I would need to put in to finish.

 

Which brings us here, my first ever marathon! If you had told me three years ago I would be signing up to run a marathon, I would have laughed in your face and been tired just at the thought. And okay, maybe I am still a little tired at the idea, but perhaps I'm just crazy enough to do it now. For years I have been dreaming about running the NYC marathon. The route was my screen saver for a few months; I have devoured every video and blog made by runners who actually did it. And I have decided it's time for me to do it too!

 

I have signed up to run this November, and I am teamed up with Team For Kids to raise money to support youth programs worldwide. TFK is a cause I feel so passionately about; as many of you know, I spent two summers working as a camp counselor and one year being a nanny to three of the most amazing kids I will ever know. I have seen firsthand the impact that programs like this have on kids, and I am so excited to get to run to make them happen!

 

I also chose this charity because my whole life, my dad was always there to make any dream I had come true. He coached my soccer teams, signed me up for camps, never missed a single dance competition, and was always there to help me take on any new adventure I could think of. These donations will make sure that all kids get to know what it's like to be a part of something, and I know my dad would be over the moon to be a part of that. Every donation made will be in his honour, and every step I take during the race will be taken for him.

And, if we go over our goal for TFK, I have decided to donate all additional funds to the Gord Downie Fund for Brain Cancer.

 

Please feel free to share this with friends or family; every donation or share means the world to me! Help out any way you can and "Kick it With Kitch," just like I will be as I run, knowing he is right by my side kicking it with me. Thank you all so very much, and I will see you at the finish line!