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