Slight Change of Plans for the Half Marathon

So it looks like I'll be running the half marathon in Scottsdale instead of Chicago this Sunday. Let me fill you in on how that has all come about.

Frankly, we've been facing some tremendous challenges with my wife, Cindy. For those who haven't heard, Cindy experienced some serious chemical burns on her hands. Even though her hands have healed on the outside, the nerve pain continues unabated (picture your hands on fire and from there, overall pain shoots through your body and makes it terribly hard to sleep). We've been to a number of doctors, and are extremely grateful for all the folks who have been praying. We have seen some improvement, thank the Lord. However, we just need her brain to start saying "There's no reason to hurt anymore!" and for the pain to stop! (Not being able to sleep for more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time makes everything in life more challenging).

So that leads me to the change of venue for the race.

If you've seen earlier posts or visited our website, you'll remember that I was supposed to go to Chicago this weekend and run the Rock & Roll 1/2 Marathon. That's our big summer fund-raising event for StrongFamilies, with people sponsoring me per mile, and all the funds raised going to build strongfamilies. However, with Cindy in such tough shape, I've had to cancel trips last week, and I can't fly out to Chicago this week as well.

So, Cindy came up with a great idea (I think).

This Sunday at 5:00am here in Phoenix (the same time they step off in Chicago), I'm going to run the "Cindy Trent is Going to Get Better Scottsdale Canal 1/2 Marathon!" Meaning, I'll just use the Nike+ GPS on my shoe (which posts to our StrongFamilies Facebook page), and will run the 13.2 miles here in town so I can be with Cindy this weekend.

I'm going to send out an email to all those who have already agreed to sponsor the race in Chicago, to explain the situation. I simply can't leave Cindy right now, so while people can certainly pull their sponsorship, I'm still going to run the 13.2 for StrongFamilies.

If they'd like, or if you'd like to help the ministry, then just email jefft@strongfamilies.com (that's Jeff Thibault, our director of training for StrongFamilies) and let him know you're in for the "Cindy Trent is Going to Get Better" run as a sponsor!

As a ministry, all gifts are tax deductible and go directly to helping us help couples, singles and families!

Thanks for your prayers and understanding!

John Trent, Ph.D.

Sponsor John as he runs for StrongFamilies!

There are so many couples and families who need encouragement, hope and help! Join the Team that’s helping to sponsor Dr. John Trent as he runs the Rock & Roll Half Marathon on Sunday August 1st, in Chicago!

How do I sponsor Dr. Trent?

1. Just pick an amount, ($1.00, $5.00, $25.00, $100 or more) that you’d like to pledge “per mile.” A half-marathon is 13.2 miles.
2. Email Jeff Thibault (our Director of Operations and Training at StrongFamilies) at JeffT@strongfamilies.com (That’s Jeff “t” for Thibault at StrongFamilies.com) with the amount you’d like to pledge and your mailing (snail mail) address. (That way we can send you a donation receipt after you send in a check or go online and donate your pledge online).
3. We also have a special gift for all of our sponsors! A signed book from our online bookstore! Just visit StrongFamilies.com and go to our bookstore and pick out the book you’d like. You'll find more details about how on the sponsorship page here as well.
   

How do I know how John did at the race?

It’s a pretty sure bet that John won’t win the race – but he is persistent and barring a huge piece of space debris falling on him or some other unlikely catastrophe, it’s likely he’ll finish the race! Whatever happens – you’ll know exactly how far (and how slow) he ran as Jeff Thibault will be sending you an email when John lands in Chicago to get ready for the race, then another email on that Sunday morning that gives you his start time, split time (the half-way point) and his finish time! All runners at the Rock & Roll get a “chip” that goes on your shoe. Jeff will actually get email updates sent to him as John passes each point in the race! Is technology amazing or what!

You can find more details about the race and how you can sponsor John by visiting the StrongFamilies Sponsor Page.

So please join us as we support and encourage healthy and StrongFamilies!