April 14 – 4 days to go, let it snow...and where does the money go?!

April 14: Scheduled – rest day.

Actual – rest it was, at least, rest as in no running. Awoke to a fresh white coat covering the city, 15cm of snow overnight just to remind us where we live. Canada: eight months of hockey, four months of bad ice. It certainly isn’t Hawaii! The back yard seemed far more suited to Christmas than a week before Easter and once the sun came out, it was ‘slush city’. The toughest bit of navigating was walking around the city without filling your shoes with ice-water, it was like a ‘slurpee’ machine had been unloosed upon the city piling mounds of slush everywhere. Kind of perfect for icing store feet and ankles if willing to stand outside barefoot, something apparently rather comfortable for the barefoot runner I shared a km or two during my run on Wednesday.

April 14 -- good morning!!

April 14 backyard surprise

And what of those donations being made? Firstly, thank you so much to so many for being so very generous! Humbled by the support being afforded me, I felt compelled to go and donate another $500 to the “cause” because if you don’t believe and commit to the idea personally, how could I with a good conscience continue to ask others to donate their hard earned cash?! We’re starting to accumulate some funds to the point where they will make a difference in the lives of others trough the power of sport.

Just to reassure those who have or are thinking about donating, I estimate that over 95% of the funds will go directly to support program delivery costs; programs such as the “Ready, Willing and Able” program delivered by ParaSport Ontario; or to help ensure that the Canadian Paralympic Team going to London in 2012 has all the resources required for the athletes to perform at their very best in striving for excellence and reaching the podium. The 5% spent on expenses? This is strictly to cover costs incurred in creating and upgrading the donations page for “Run Jarvis, Run” and as many of you know, we had a few glitches so thank you for your patience with this! As for the actual training and race costs (gym fees, gear, race registration, hotels, flights, etc.), this is all covered by me personally as it was my silly idea to enter the race. Tax receipts will be issued to all those who donate with our plan to send those out with a personalized note from myself sometime after the race. Of course, this means likely June as I’ll be out of commission to write or use computer for several weeks after I get my right shoulder operated on three days after the marathon; the shoulder getting repaired is the one that’s connected to the one hand I have! Bummer! Perhaps while I’m recuperating, the local park will lose its wintery cover and let the spring grasses and flowers emerge?!

Of course, I also don’t want anyone asking me how to set up and manage the blog as this has been very much a partnership with tech savvy Matt R. at ParaSport Ontario. He’s been great in bringing the blog to life and inserting some extra video clips to break up the monotony of my text. I was responsible for the writing, taking a few pictures and a couple of video clips -- more to come; be sure not to miss the video on how to tie your shoelaces with just one hand. Finally, do check out both the CPC and ParaSport Ontario websites to see the good work being done by these organizations. Until three days to go....

CPC - http://www.paralympic.ca/ ParaSport Ontario - http://www.parasportontario.ca/