Why I run

This training cycle feels very different than any I have done before, largely because I have spent more time reflecting on why I run and why I run to raise money for MBHP. I regularly have people ask why I take on challenges like the marathon and not infrequently, I struggle to answer them. So, here is my answer:

Not so long ago, I didn't have a stable place to live. After head injuries, repeated knee surgeries and other injuries from domestic violence, I made the difficult decision to leave my parents home - even if I wasn't sure where I would be going. I kept a job and went to school despite staying on couches and sometimes outside, ignoring health issues and the need for better quality food - in short, surviving. I was lucky enough to have someone cut me a break and provide a stable couch to sleep on as long as I needed it. I was slowly able to pull my life back together, save money to pay for start-up costs for an apartment and address some of the health issues that I had been neglecting.

10 years ago, I moved to Boston. 6 years ago I had the last of 14 knee surgeries and as a joke my surgeon said I could go run a marathon, so here I am. I am here because someone took a risk and helped me get my life together. Someone said, you are smart enough to survive on your own and you are going to do good things in the world. When someone asks me why I am running for MBHP, the answer is now easy for me to articulate...the men, women and children we help at MBHP deserve that same chance. They too are smart and surviving despite the difficult decisions they face daily- choice between food and medication, rent or an empty stomach, time with their kids or an extra shift at work. I run because I had the chance to not only survive but to thrive - my clients deserve the same thing.

Is $10,000 going to end homelessness - no. But raising $10,000 gives someone in the 30 cities and towns MBHP serves a chance to thrive and not be afraid of not having somewhere to sleep safely tonight. Join me in giving them that chance. For those who have been wondering, this is why I run.