ERIC MANDELA, 03:19:44 @ Finish, Pace 7:37.
MCM presented by EDS - EDS Supporting The Marathon!

ERIC MANDELA, 02:42:36 @ 22M, Pace 7:23, Predicted 03:13:34.
MCM presented by ROSSLYN - Rosslyn Finish Festival Awaits

ERIC MANDELA, 02:10:03 @ 18M, Pace 7:13, Predicted 03:09:12.
MCM presented by ARLINGTON - Back to Arlington & Finish Line Fest

ERIC MANDELA, 01:47:57 @ 15M, Pace 7:11, Predicted 03:08:19.
MCM presented by SATURN

ERIC MANDELA, 01:33:50 @ Half, Pace 7:09, Predicted 03:07:27.
MCM presented by USAA - Eligible2join? Visit USAA.com

ERIC MANDELA, 00:35:29 @ 5M, Pace 7:05, Predicted 03:05:42.
MCM presented by Marathon Foto - Order ur pics-MarathonFoto.com

Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure (Breast Cancer 5K)

I ran in the Susan G. Komen Race for the Cure 5K race for Breast Cancer this past Sunday at Six Flags Great Adventure. I was part of the team set up by my Rescue Squad friend Jim Pedersen called Stone Soup. The 13 members of the team raised over $2,500.00. I would really like to thank everyone who donated to the cause on my behalf from the bottom of my heart, it really means the world to me!

All in all the day was great, I even convinced both of my parents to do the 2.5 mile walk. Everything from the location to the weather to the organization was top notch.

In the days before the race, I felt in very good condition and I predicted that I would break my previous personal record for the 5k distance of 21:04. My good running friend Brian said "You'll probably break 21:00 in your next race." Break 21:00 I did by setting a brand new PR of 20:22 for a pace of 6:34 minutes per mile. Overall, my place was 37th out of 1596 total finishers. I also placed 8th out of 90 in the male 20-29 division.

I ran my heart and feet out in this race, especially since I was wearing new shoes which I first started using three days prior. I developed blisters which I promptly lanced and I figured I would be in pretty good shape for the race. However, they did not have enough time to heal fully or develop calluses and while I experienced pain toward the end of the run, I didn't realize that blood had soaked through my shoe until about 5 minutes after the race. I ran 7 miles today which is only 2 days after the race and my feet barely hurt at all already.

Running is nothing compared to the pain that cancer patients suffer. 3 people very close to me were affected by breast cancer alone and this is the least I can do to try to help others.

Coming up in just under 2 weeks on October 28th is the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, DC where I will make my first earnest attempt at finishing within the 3:10 qualifying time I need in order to gain entry into the Boston Marathon.

Marathon Update: Eric J Mandela at Finish in 4:33:35

ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert for Eric J Mandela (race number 21488)

Eric J Mandela has finished the ING New York City Marathon in 4:33:35.
Congratulations! If you are meeting this person at family reunion,
please be mindful that it could take up to 30 minutes for him or
her to get there.

Note that all results are unofficial.

Thank you for using the ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert
presented by Road Runner High Speed Online. The ING New York City
Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners. Please visit
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org for complete results, photos, wrap-up
stories, and motivation for 2005.

Marathon Update: Eric J Mandela at 20 Miles in 3:23:20

ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert for Eric J Mandela (race number 21488)

20 Miles: 3:23:20
Pace per mile: 10:10
Projected finishing time: 4:26:22

Thank you for using the ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert
presented by Road Runner High Speed Online. The ING New York City
Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners. Please visit
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org for mile-by-mile coverage and athlete
tracking during the race.

Marathon Update: Eric J Mandela at Halfway point in 2:08:24

ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert for Eric J Mandela (race number 21488)

Halfway point: 2:08:24
Pace per mile: 9:48
Projected finishing time: 4:16:48

Thank you for using the ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert
presented by Road Runner High Speed Online. The ING New York City
Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners. Please visit
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org for mile-by-mile coverage and athlete
tracking during the race.

Marathon Update: Eric J Mandela at 10 Kilometers in 1:02:22

ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert for Eric J Mandela (race number 21488)

10 Kilometers: 1:02:22
Pace per mile: 10:03
Projected finishing time: 4:23:33

Thank you for using the ING New York City Marathon Athlete Alert
presented by Road Runner High Speed Online. The ING New York City
Marathon is the premier event of New York Road Runners. Please visit
http://www.ingnycmarathon.org for mile-by-mile coverage and athlete
tracking during the race.

Track Me on Marathon Sunday!

I configured the Athlete Alert system to automatically post a message on this web site when I reach the following Marathon milestones (the chip on my shoe should trigger the e-mails), 10k, half-Marathon, 20 Miles, and when I finish. If you refresh the site, you should see all the posts.

During the Marathon, I will be wearing the orange and purple uniform of Fred's Team, Eric is written on the top of my shirt.

You can watch the Marathon on channel 4 in the NY area (Your local NBC station elsewhere) I believe that on race day, you should also be able to track me on the Marathon's official web site at http://www.ingnycmarathon.com/ You will probably have to search by my race number which is 21488 .

RACE #	ENTRY	ACCEPTED?	LAST NAME	FIRST NAME	AGE	CITY	STATE/REG./PROV.	COUNTRY	TEAM	TOUR #
21488	77261	YES	MANDELA	ERIC J	M23	RAHWAY	NJ		FRED

It's Almost Race Day!

Thanks so much to everyone who has supported me every step of the way. I am now very close to my initial fundraising committment, but every dollar over that just means more money for research for pediatric cancers. The deadline for donations isn't until December 15th, 2005 so if you haven't donated yet but want to, there is still plenty of time. It feels good to be doing something about this disease however small, especially since way too frequently someone I know well gets diagnosed with some type of cancer.

Last Saturday, October 29th, I completed my last long run before the Marathon, running 20 miles in just a little over 3 hours. It was a relatively cold day, but I much prefer that to some of the summer runs where I was drinking over 3 litres during the run and several more before and after. It went very well and was one of the least physically impactful long runs I have done.

I will be leaving for New York Saturday afternoon. There is the race expo at the Javits center which is open and free to the public (9AM-5PM) where I need to pick up my race number and ChampionChip which is an electronic RFID tracking device which records the official times whenever I run over a sensor mat which is located at the finish and several other intervals. Then during the evening, there is the pasta dinner at the Tavern on the Green.

I have to be on the buses to Staten Island at 6:45 AM, so I should be at the start around 7:30 where I will wait the 3 hours until the open field starts. I have heard that because of the amount of people there, sometimes it takes 15-30 minutes after the start to cross the starting line. From the starting line to the finish, I hope to take just under 4 hours which will be a significant accomplishment for me. In addition to Fred's team, I am hoping to hook up with the 9 minute per mile pace team, which, if I am able to keep up with the leader, should get me to the finish within 2 minutes of 3:56.

Again, thanks so much to everyone for all your help and support!

Mileage - Week of July 24th: 7 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 24th: 7 Miles

July 27th 7 Miles

Recently my right leg especially my knee and foot have been acting up and although I can run through it at my goal pace, it makes it hard for me to walk the next few days after a run. Rather than risk major injury, I tapered my running down somewhat so that I can heal. I will begin to ramp back up to my goal weekly mileage in the next week or two. This will not affect my goals for the marathon (after 1 hour of running, I have enough epinephrine running through my body that I no longer feel any pain).

Mileage - Week of July 17th: 20 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 17th: 20 Miles

July 22nd 20 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 10th: 27 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 10th: 27 Miles

July 13th 7 Miles @ 1:02 - (8 min, 51 sec per mile)

July 15th 20 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 3rd: 14 Miles

Mileage - Week of July 3rd: 14 Miles

July 4th 7 Miles @ 1:02 - (8 min, 51 sec per mile)

July 9th 7 Miles @ 1:05 - (9 min, 17 sec per mile)

Mileage - Week of June 26th: 34 Miles

Mileage - Week of June 26th: 34 Miles

June 26th 7 Miles @ 1:05 - (9 min, 17 sec per mile)

July 1st 7 Miles @ 1:05 - (9 min, 17 sec per mile)

July 2nd 20 Miles @ 3:05 - (9 min, 15 sec per mile)

Mileage - Week of June 19th: 34 Miles

Mileage - Week of June 19th: 34 Miles

June 19th 7 Miles @ 1:02 - (8 min, 51 sec per mile)

June 22nd 20 Miles @ 3:05 - (9 min, 15 sec per mile)

June 25th 7 Miles @ 1:03 - (9 min per mile)

Mileage - Week of June 12th: 35.5 Miles

Mileage - Week of June 12th: 35.5 Miles

June 12th 7 Miles

June 15th 18 Miles @ 2:52 - (9 min, 33 sec per mile)

June 17th 7 Miles @ 1:02 - (8 min, 51 sec per mile)

June 18th 3.5 Miles

[Biking - June 18th 20 Miles @ 1:35]

Eric J. Mandela to run 2005 NYC Marathon to benefit The Aubrey Fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

I am running the 2005 NYC Marathon to support Pediatric Cancer Research on November 6th as a member of Fred's Team and am asking you for your help. If you can, please support children who have cancer by sponsoring me as a Fred's Team member by making a donation to my effort.
Thank you!
100% of donations go directly to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and are 100% tax deductible.

Feel free to e-mail me at Eric.Mandela@verizon.net with any questions or comments or leave a comment on this blog!

• My Fred's Team 2005 NYC Marathon Home Page
• Sponsor my race by donating to Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center

"Make no little plans, they have no magic to stir man's blood... MAKE BIG PLANS. Aim high in hope and work...."
-Daniel H. Burnham

Go Big, Or Go Home!

I had just gained entrance to one of the biggest races with one of the longest distances, when I heard about Fred's Team which benefits the Aubrey fund for Pediatric Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. It made me realize that a Marathon is a relatively small goal compared to the one of eradicating cancer and that the toughest physical challenges are minor compared to the challenges faced by a child fighting cancer.

When confronted with a disease such as cancer like we all are as humanity, we have several different options. Some will cower in fear, others will try to forget about it, while some will take up the sword and do whatever it takes to kill the disease before it kills our children.

I would be greatly honored if you would help fight against cancer by sponsoring my race in the 2005 ING NYC Marathon. 100% of contributions go directly to The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and are 100% tax deductible. You can donate by credit card directly through this website which is run by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and is completely secure or by giving me a check payable to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center or cash. I need to receive and process the checks and cash so that I receive credit for your sponsorship.

At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, doctors and researchers are working on clinical trials that have great potential to increase cancer survival rates. In recent years, the overall survival rate of children with cancer has increased from 55% to 70% and we can help them do more!

By the numbers: My 1st marathon, 26.2 miles, 5 months of training, 4.5 thousand dollar fundraising goal, 3:59 finish goal.

How I realized that a marathon is possible:

I have been a casual runner for a while, running my favorite 7 mile route pretty much whenever I felt like it, but usually at least once a week and often more. This past memorial day weekend, I did it every day in just about an hour (just about 9 minutes per mile). Having been interested in running a marathon for a long time, but never seeing a clear route to get there, I knew that many marathon training schedules recommend a weekly training mileage of 30 miles per week. Realizing that I had just done nearly that amount of mileage in 4 days, I put in my application to the NYC marathon just about a day or two before the June 1st deadline. I continued my training at about 30 miles per week until June 15th rolled around and I found out that I was accepted. Since it was a cool day and I was happy to be accepted, I decided to push my longest ever running distance so far from 10 miles to 18 miles, finishing the 18th mile in 2:52 (averaging just about 9.5 minutes per mile total, running the first 10 in 1:28 for a per mile time of under 9 minutes). Then, on Wednesday, June 22nd, I ran 20 Miles in 3:05 (9 minutes, 15 seconds per mile). This is very encouraging and leads me to believe that I will not have a problem in exceeding my goal of finishing the marathon in under 4 hours. I plan on training hard all summer and I will probably run a marathon or two perhaps around September for training purposes and also to gauge my performance and improvement.

Making the decision to run for Fred's team was one of the easiest and hardest decisions I have made in my life. It was so easy because it is such a great cause, but hard because raising this money is going to be a daunting task. However, I knew there was no way that I could live with myself not running for a great cause especially since people apply for the NYC marathon and do not get in for years because participants like myself are granted entry through a random lottery system and some people have to try for up to 4 years in order to gain entry (guaranteed entry for a man my age requires a qualifying time of 2:50 for a marathon).

I will use this blog to keep you up to date on my progress. Please feel free to comment on any posts you see.

Thanks again for all your support!

Eric J. Mandela
Eric.Mandela@verizon.net

Mileage - Week of June 5th: 30 Miles

Mileage - Week of June 5th: 30 Miles

June 5th 9 Miles

June 8th 7 Miles

June 10th 7 Miles

June 11th 7 Miles

Mileage - Week of May 29th: 21 Miles

Mileage - Week of May 29th: 21 Miles

May 29th 7 Miles

May 30th 7 Miles

June 4th 7 Miles

Mileage - Week of May 22th: 14 Miles

Mileage - Week of May 22th: 14 Miles

May 27th 7 Miles

May 28th 7 Miles