Getting to the Start Line

We are officially entered in the race!!!  Because we were able to raise over $15K for American Cancer Society, we knew we'd be guaranteed entry, however, we still had to send in our registration form on the right day with the required fee.  See, Hood to Coast is not like other races...registration is open by mail-in form on one day only.  Entries post marked before or after that one single day are not even considered!

The top six teams from all 15 divisions in the 2011 race were allowed automatic entry first, then the fundraising teams...in order to fill the remaining spots, they have a lottery from all the submissions post-marked on the correct date.  This year over 2,500 teams from all 50 states and 30 countries applied for 1,050 slots.  Yes, more teams were turned away than were entered.

So...we want to give a heart-felt THANK YOU to everyone who helped us reach the $15K fundraising goal, allowing us to participate in this event as well as everyone who has helped (or will help) us continue to raise the necessary funds allowing us to actually make it to the start line.

Here's the thing about that...if this race weren't unbelievable fun (from what I've heard), no one would want to be involved.  If no one wanted to run the race, it wouldn't be hard to get a spot.  If it wasn't hard to get a spot in the race, teams wouldn't be motivated to raise the required amount in order to guarantee their entry.  The fact this is a fun race IS what allowed the organizers to raise over $517,000 this year to fight cancer on all fronts (research for a cure, research for treatment, funding for patients and their families to receive the care they need, etc).

Do we as a team NEED to run this race in order to raise the money for American Cancer Society?  No.  However, how many people do you know who raise money for a charity or cause without it being tied to some kind of event (MDA Lock-Up, wrapping paper and cookie dough sales for the schools, public radio fund drives....)?  Not how many people give to charities which are near and dear to their heart...how many people convince others to give to those charities without there being some campaign?  I'd say less than 1% of any organizations' budget is raised this way.

This is why it is CRUCIAL our team (along with all our competitors) make it to the start line for the race!!  I believe keeping the event alive and fruitful will only serve to increase the donations to American Cancer Society year after year (2011 saw an increase of $17K in dontations...I can't even imagine what it will be in 2012).

To that end (making it to the start line), we've been organizing several events.  The raffle for the Alabama/Arkansas football tickets was a huge success.  In the coming days I'll tell you about a few other past events as well as let you know what's coming up next.  For now...please take three minutes and watch this video...maybe you'll have a better understanding why we want to make it to the start line so bad!