Help Wanted

Exactly two months from today, I will be running the Ghost Train 100 Mile Trail Race in  memory of Sam Berns. Sam was a wonderful young man from Foxboro Massachusetts who passed away on January 10th. Sam suffered from a rare disease called Progeria – which is a fatal genetic condition characterized by an appearance of accelerated aging. Sam lived ‘til the ripe old age (at least where Progeria is concerned) of 17.

Sam’s parents, Leslie Gordon and Scott Berns, founded the Progeria Research Foundation in 1999 and since that time, PRF has been the driving force behind the Progeria gene discovery and the first-ever Progeria drug treatment. They have taken what was an obscure, ignored disease and have developed a globally recognized treatment in just 13 years – an unheard of timeline in the world of medical research!

I will be raising money for PRF and hopefully awareness about Progeria with every mile I run at Ghost Train.  But, I need your help!  No, I don’t need you to contribute to 100 Miles For Sam (although I wouldn’t be disappointed if you did), what I need instead is your time.

I have never run 100 miles before and I’m a bit nervous about it. However, what will make me less nervous is having some of my friends out there with me – running with and cheering me on. You see, this race allows runners to have their own crew and/or pacers. So, if you want to find out all about the wonderful “Ultra Running Sub-Culture” which exists right under your very nose, this is a great opportunity to do so!

The race starts at 9:00am on Saturday October 25th at the Milford DPW on 298 South Street and runs along the 7.5 mile rail trail to Camp Teyva in Brookline (along the shores of Lake Potanipo) and back – for a 15 mile loop. Pacers are allowed to accompany the runners beginning at mile 30, which I suspect will be around 3:00pm for me, and all the way to the finish – which I hope to be around 7:00am the following day.

Now, I know what you’re saying: “Michael is both fast AND awesome! How can I possibly keep up?” Well, normally you’d be right (said in sarcastic voice)  but this is a 100 mile race – and my first one at that! So, I’ll be hoping to run 12:00 minute miles and probably slower than that in the dark. So, just about everyone out there in the blog-o-sphere can keep up. At least for 7.5, smooth flat dirt-covered miles, or so. Plus, there will be snacks!

If you want to run with me please bring along your headlamp and your sense of humor. You never know what confessions, words of wisdom, comedy or profanity may come out of my mouth at 3 in the morning. If you don’t think you’d like to run, but would still like to be a part of it, you can come out and cheer me (and the rest of the runners) on. Clap, scream and chant all you like, but please don’t bring cowbells. For some reason, after 20 plus hours of running, people get kind of annoyed by those.

Comment below (or e-mail me) if you think you’d like to be a part of this and I’ll get you all the details. I know that running 100 miles isn't going to be easy, but with the right training, your support and courage of the amazing children still suffering from Progeria motivating me with every step, I know I can do it!

Thanks!

~ Michael