I’m taking a break from harassing everyone about donating to an amazing cause to talk a little bit about the future. In all reality, the Marine Corp Marathon was my last charity event for a little while. With school, work, and trying to make the world a healthier place I’m pretty busy. That, and I’ve learned that running, well, it just doesn’t seem to agree with me (at least not right now). With that out there I wan to open this up for all my readers (all four of you) to let me know where you would like this site/blog to go.

Some ideas I’ve been playing around with:

• Use the site as a repository of information about cancer that is dispersed over social media sites (twitter, facebook, etc.).
• Create sub domains within the site (i.e. ernesto.tweetoutcancer.com) and allow others to use it as a platform for their socially linked fundraising efforts.
• Turn it into a “socially aware” visualization platform about cancer and caner related thoughts/feelings (see Twistori).
• Turn it into a more well-rounded blog to share stories about how cancer has affected the lives of others.

What do you think? Do you have a better idea? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Hello Friends and fellow Cancer Haters.

Just wanted to give you a little update on the ongoing fundraising efforts over here at TweetOutCancer.com. We passed the $750 mark last night thanks to the generosity of some very, very amazing people. Now, we still have $250 to go to meet out goal here of raising $1,000 for the American Cancer Society. Now, you may be asking yourself, “Why should I donate? Times are tough, we’re in a recession, and money’s tight. Why does the ACS deserve my hard earned money?” Well, that’s a good question and I’ll try and provide the answer. The following is from the American Cancer Society website (I could put it in my own words, but they’ve done a much better job that I could ever do)

Every dollar you provide to the American Cancer Society goes toward eliminating cancer as a major health concern. Your donation is essential to supporting our mission, which fights cancer on four fronts: research, education, advocacy, and service.

Research: The American Cancer Society is the largest source of private, nonprofit cancer research funds in the United States, second only to the federal government. The Society has had a hand in virtually every major cancer breakthrough of the past half-century. With your help, we can continue on this path.Learn more about research

Education: The American Cancer Society provides free educational programs and support services to help improve the quality of life for all cancer patients and their families, including prevention and early detection initiatives like the Great American Health Challenge; our toll-free information line 1-800-ACS-2345, available any time, day or night; and this Web site, with the accurate information available to any Internet user 24 hours a day.

Advocacy: The American Cancer Society Action Network SM [ACS CAN] is the Society’s nonprofit, nonpartisan sister organization that consists of a grassroots network of volunteers working on the local, state, and federal levels to pass meaningful legislation. ACS CAN advocates for stronger public health laws to fight cancer and achieve equal access to quality health care for all people.Learn more about advocacy

Service: If you are diagnosed with cancer, where can you turn for help? The American Cancer Society offers many free programs for patients and survivors, including rides to and from treatment; the Cancer Survivors Network for support; beauty products for patients to help them restore their self-confidence after debilitating treatment; and more. Learn more about services

No other cancer organization has this kind of presence in the community and power to influence legislators, health organizations, the media, and corporations. No other cancer-related group has the volunteer base, community presence, positive awareness, and decades of accomplishments that the American Cancer Society does. Established in 1913, the American Cancer Society is the nationwide community-based voluntary health organization dedicated to eliminating cancer as a major health problem.

One person can make a difference. You can make a difference—it happens every day . . . and it sustains our goals for a tomorrow free from cancer.

Wow. They do so much for so many people! So If you haven’t take the time to donate please do so now. You can donate in as little as $5 (about the same amount you spent on the latte you’re probably sipping as you read this) to this cause. So click on the button below and give a little to those who need it most.

Just woke up from my post-race coma. My dad and I found our official race times:

In July, I decided that it would be a good idea to sign up for a marathon. I looked around and found the Marine Corp Marathon and thought, “Hey! That sounds like fun.”

When I went to sign up I had unfortunately missed out and the marathon had already filled it’s registration quota. This turns out to be a very good thing. One of the ways that you can participate in a sold-out event is to become a charity runner. As a charity runner you find a charity that is taking part in the event, has registration spots, and is willing to sponsor your registration in exchange for fundraising. It was an easy choice for me as I’ve done this before. My first real cycling event was a 100-mile ride 10 years ago that I completed as a member of Team in Training. I raised over $2000 for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, trained a ton, and in my own little way helped with the fight against cancer. 10 years later that fight is still going on and once again I chose to take part. I signed on to raise money for the American Cancer Society, a wonderful organization that is dedicated to all aspects involved in the fight against cancer.

I also wanted to do an event that I could do with my father. The only time I have run competitively was in the 8th grade when I joined the middle school track team after an unsuccessful attempt at making the baseball team. I ran, and ran, and ran that spring and my dad seized the opportunity to enter us both into the Austin Statesman Capitol 10k in Austin, TX. It was a great time, and I fondly remember the nightly 4-mile training runs around our block. Fast forward about 13 years and the spoils of retirement had started to take their toll on my dad. So I hatched a plan: Sign him up for a race, something that he would get excited about and cause him to change his habits and start being more active. Enter the Marine Corps 10k (run in conjunction with the marathon). The marines hold a special place in my dad’s heart (a story for another day) and it just so happens that I know he can’t resist taking part in something that benefits his favorite branch of our armed forces.

Well the day has come and gone. And let’s just say it was an experience. I had begun my training with the hope of running in the neighborhood of 3 hrs. A pretty good clip, but something I thought was doable. I started training, and training, and training, and I was right on track. That is, until I ran into my old nemisis: injury. I’ve had issue with my legs ever since I stopped cycling a few years back and I know that not dealing with those issues properly led to my injuries. I just gutted it out, took some time off, and started riding the bike a bit more. The summer came and went, and all of a sudden it was time to run a marathon. So I came out here never having run more than 11 miles and I put one foot in front of the other for the better part of a morning. All in all I ran right my very first marathon in 4:59:56 for an average pace of 11:26/mile. While that may seem slow, trust me it was tough. I was hobbled by my old injuries and had to spend some time walking every now and then, but it was a ton of fun (maybe a supposedly fun thing I’ll never do again).

My dad did his 10k and had a blast. This event was only one factor in a complete life change for him. Since he agreed to do this with me, he’s lost about 40 pounds and has gone from a retired old guy, to the energizer bunny! He ran his 10K wonderfully, and averaged 12:29/mile for a total time of 1:17:30 (I think).

If you’re just stumbling upon this blog I invite to you take a look around, view all the older posts from my race. I was using my iPhone to update during the race via twitter (with pictures too!). Read them, and imagine you were there with me!

And lastly, if take the time to donate to a very worthwhile cause. The American Cancer Society has done, is doing, and will continue to work to help those who’ve been afflicted by cancer. Even if its as little as $5.00 it can make a difference. Also I just want to say thank you to all the people who have supported me so far and have donated to this cause. You are all an inspiration to me.

Hello and good morning. It is currently 5:27 AM as I type this and we are t-minus 2.5 hours till marathon start time. I’m excited and nervous. We’ve got a short car ride + metro ride to to start village a few miles away in Arlington. The American Cancer Society has kindly set up a starting area for all of us charity runners where I’ll be joining my fellow cancer haters for some pre-race snacks and hydration.

The marathon is set to go off at 8:00 AM. After this post the majority of what you will see here on the blog will be posts via Twitter. They will be short and sweet and may include links to pictures I will be taking along the course. I’m doing this so we can share in this adventure together, so please come back and visit from time to time throughout the marathon. I’m planning on trying to finish sometime around 1 PM EST (10 AM PST for you west-coasters) so you should see a lot of twitter posts from here on out.

Now, you all should know the reason I’m doing this, or else you wouldn’t be reading this post. I’m raising money for the American Cancer Society because I hate cancer and they do to. They are an amazing organization that has dedicated their time to increasing funding for cancer research, education, and support for those affected by ANY type of cancer. I know I’ve been affected by cancer that has stricken friends and loved ones, and I’m willing to be you have too. So please, take the time to donate by clicking that button over there on right sidebar, or the one above this post. It will help me reach my goal of $1000 and help the American Cancer Society continue working towards their mission.

Its go time.