Run for Relief: Aid Blue Ridge Relay Communities

Hi, my name is Neal Harrington. I'm from Charlotte, NC and this story is to help raise money for the survivors of Hurricane Helene. Specifically, our goal is to raise money for businesses and organizations that work with the Blue Ridge Relay. I ran the BRR for the 1st time this year and this is my personal story of why I'm doing this.

Hurricane Helene devastated much of western NC, including many of the places located on the Blue Ridge Relay. I was very blessed to experience this once-in-a-lifetime event this year, and the people who took care of the teams running along this 206-mile race were so kind. A few weeks later, their lives have been upended, their homes destroyed, their businesses swept away. So I thought, how can I help these people? There's 2 legs in the race called "MG Hard." I remember asking my team what that meant and them laughing. "That's 'Mountain Goat hard, Neal,'" they said. Oh my, I thought. I better start training as I only had 17 days to get ready for this little "fun run." My goal was to finish my MG leg without stopping. So for 17 days, my focus was on training my body to withstand the pain I knew I would endure to accomplish this feat. When I crossed the finish line of that leg without stopping, it was one of those moments for me personally where I realized something about myself that I had not realized before. Running, like anything else, is a mental sport. We can train our bodies physically, but the true training is what we can do to our minds and how we can push our limits if we allow ourselves.

After the BRR, I have been searching for other ways to explore this new phenomenon of our mental fitness and was preparing to complete what I called the "David Goggins" road challenge with some of my BRR teammates. David Goggins is a Navy SEAL and a hero of mine who's written several books. My favorite, "Can't Hurt Me," is truly epic and changed my view on both physical and mental fitness. Thank you, Mr. Goggins, for teaching me how to train my brain to push my body!

Anyway, the challenge is beginning October 1st, to run 10 miles at 4:30 AM and 10 miles at 9 PM every day for a month. Saturday and Sunday are rest days. This morning, after seeing more and more pictures come out of places where the BRR exchange locations were made and all of the devastation that has taken place, I told my team that I think we should make this challenge a fundraising effort and take it to the world and ask everyone to join us who'd like to.

So here's the ask: Push your body to the limit (Goggins style). We're going to help lift some families in desperate need by running 20 miles a day every 5 days for 30 straight days. Ask your friends and family to donate an amount for every mile you run. All proceeds will be donated to the businesses, churches, and volunteer organizations that help and assist with the BRR.

Thank you and God bless to all those who are struggling. We are coming to help, running one step at a time!