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How is the team's preparation for the Marathon coming along?
Everybody is excited for the Marathon, which is now only a few weeks away. This past weekend a number of us ran 20 miles along the Marathon course, and those on the team who weren't able to make it put in 20 miles on their own. We've all been working hard to prepare ourselves physically, and in these next few weeks we'll start to taper the mileage, let our bodies recover a bit, and prepare ourselves mentally for the run!
How close is the team to reaching its fundraising goal?
The team has put forth a fundraising effort that they should really be proud of, especially considering the economic climate. But we still have quite a ways to go in order to reach our goal! Nearly a third of the team has surpassed the $3,000 minimum individual goal, and the rest of us (myself included) are working hard to get past that, too. Please check out our other team members and learn more about why they're running.
What sort of things are you doing to reach your goal?
I'm relatively young and not as well connected as I might like, so I've had to be creative with my fundraising. I've been hosting events, writing letters, and even sold whacks at a pinata to raise money; and I'm grateful for the tremendous support I've received from friends, family and coworkers. But as the Marathon comes closer, I'm still looking for ways to reach my goal, and so right now I'm planning my biggest fundraising event to date.
What will you be doing for this event?
I'm going to be riding my bicycle for over 262.2 miles - over 10 marathon lengths. I cycled across the country this summer to support affordable housing causes, so I have experience biking long distances. However, I've never biked even half this distance in a single day - but, desperate times call for desperate measures and I'm hoping this event will help raise awareness for the work that Boston Partners in Education does in the schools and inspire people to support my cause.
Wow, 262.2 miles? Where will you be doing this?
On Saturday, April 4, I'll be leaving my home in Allston at 3:45 a.m. to bike out to Grafton, MA. In Grafton I will meet up with our running coach, Rick Muhr, and the two of us will complete a 40 mile loop in the area five times. When we've completed that trip (of about 200 miles), I will return to Allston, finishing at about 270 miles total.
How can we support your ride?
If you're interested in supporting my ride, I would be grateful if you made a donation to my fundraising website at www.firstgiving.com/mattallen or send a check directly to Boston Partners in Education at 44 Farnsworth Street, Boston, MA 02210. A suggested donation might be $65.55 - or a quarter for every mile. But, any contribution is appreciated!
Additionally, if you're interested in joining me for a portion of the ride, or just want to stop by and yell some words of encouragement, that would be wonderful! Send me an email at mallen@bostonpartners.org, and we can work out details!
Also, please forward this to anyone who you think would be interested in this event! Thanks everybody for your support.
How can we support the rest of the team?
You can visit the team's website at /index.cfm/page/2009-Boston-Marathon-Charity-Program/pid/10262
Read our bios and then visit our firstgiving websites to make a donation!
Good luck Matt! We wish you much success in completing this ride and hope you and the rest of the team have a great marathon on April 20th running for our Boston Partners in Education Marathon Team.
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