RACE DAY! I have never felt such emotion running through my body during The Athens Marathon. For the past 5 years, I dreamed of completing the 7-continent marathon challenge: Great Wall of China > Boston > Big 5 > Rio > Outback > Antarctica > ATHENS. Today, my dream turned into an instant classic and I am beyond thankful to all the R4P supporters from ALL 7 continents. The race finished in Olympic Stadium which was beyond breathtaking and the most incredible way to wrap up this journey.

Thank you to all the supporters near and far! With 13 days to go, I know we can reach our target goal of $20,777!!!

The Athens Authentic Marathon is 12 hours away and I am ready to run from Marathon to Athens! Want to follow the journey in real time? Download the Athens Authentic Marathon app (for free) and type in Bib #14686 as we look to complete the 7-continent marathon challenge!

I arrived in London to the friendly face of this guy! Sporting my new running shoes and about to catch the next leg to Athens. My parents and running crew are ready to tackle 26.2 in the making. Charlotte > London > Greece #R4P7for7 

WOW! So, crossing the finish line happened yesterday at the Bank of America Chicago Marathon!!! I arrived in the early morning hours, along with about 45,000 other runners, and it was an absolutely beautiful start to the day. The sun was rising behind Buckingham fountain as we all stood in line for the port-a-potties, there was a refreshing chill in the air, and energy and enthusiasm made an audible buzz. The "buzz" really gets your adrenaline going before you actually start moving and a couple of times, I felt really overwhelmed (in a good way!) and started to get a little teary. Thinking about the long spring and summer full of training and now here I was at the starting line, finally! So off we went, through downtown and up into the neighborhoods where I would see my husband and in-laws around mile 7.5 and again at mile 16.5. As I marched along, I recalled a couple years ago when my sister brought my mom in to help cheer and what a production it was for them to get to various spectator spots. I am so fortunate to have my sister as the other half of my caregiving team and to have the support of our husbands and mom's friends. So I mentally did a little wave at the spots I remembered they were cheering the last time, I got choked up, I smiled, and I continued to run.  By mile 21 I was walking through all of the aid stations, sipping my gatorade and realizing I should have eaten a bigger breakfast! It was starting to be a real struggle and I was trying not to just shuffle my feet. I saw a friend unexpectedly around mile 24 and snagged a big hug that quickly turned on my tears...there is crying in marathons, but not for too long because it's exhausting and you need all the energy you can hold on to! So I kept shuffling. Just before mile 25, I remembered my husband would be at 25.5 and I just put my head down, picked up my feet and kept going to finish. I saw him and my in-laws again, but couldn't stop for a hug...I wouldn't have started again if I stopped so he hollered out some love, I put on my smile, and I didn't stop running or smiling (maybe it was a grimace?!) until I crossed that finish line. DONE! And then I cried a little more :) I cried because of the rush of emotions. Feeling accomplished, feeling sad that my mom couldn't be there this time, feeling sad about all that has happened this year and how many times I couldn't cry because I just needed to appear strong for mom, and cried at how overwhelming it was to be supported for this race and in life.  Thank you for being a part of that support! Tonight, I will get more support as I shuffle in (slowly) to our caregiver support group made possible by the CNADC. We will talk about the big things and the small things that help us each day/week/month/year and I will come home feeling an extra sense of gratitude that this is a resource provided to my family and me. We're still working toward our goal of $20,000 to support the CNADC and all that it provides so if you're able to contribute, please do so and know that I/WE are so grateful! Thank you for all that you've given so far and for all of the encouragement! Hugs, Jane  

Here we are! 

One day away from running 26.2 miles through the streets of Chicago!! I am so thrilled to see how many folks have donated to our fundraising campaign and hope that you'll continue to support us as we keep up the good energy! Today I'll be heading over to do a shake-out run with Meb Keflezighi, an Olympic Bronze medal winner and former Boston Marathon winner. I am in no way shape or form a competitive runner like this man. I run as a way to relieve stress and to take time to think about things...and when you're not running really fast, 26.2 miles gives you a good long while to think! So tomorrow, when I step up to the starting line, I'll be thinking a lot about my mom. But, I'll also be thinking about my friends I've made through the CNADC support group and those that are a part of the ongoing research at Northwestern's clinic. In all honesty, thinking about these things that mean so much to me will make me choke up with happy tears during those miles nearing the end of the race. So, as I'm running I've decided to think about 26 of my favorite memories with my mom to keep me plugging along! I'll keep putting one foot in front of the other and, If you haven't had the opportunity to yet, please consider making a contribution to help support the CNADC move one step closer to enabling more people to make more memories with those that they love. Thank you and I'll see you at the finish line! :) 

In Health,  Jane

Grüß dich everyone,

After 12 tiring days of biking, we finally arrived in Munich on Friday! Pat, Zach, and Xavier would like to thank all of you for your support of our trip and for the generous donations presented to the Cognitive Neurology and Alzheimer's Disease Center at Northwestern. We simply could not have done this without you.

Our trip was an adventure of a lifetime, and hopefully it will inspire others to undertake a similar endeavor to further dementia awareness. Thank you again!

Auf Wiedersehen,

Pat, Zach, Xavier

Grüß dich von Frankfurt,

After traveling more than 500 kilometers in the last week, we are now slightly over half way to Munich! Fortunately, the weather has still been fantastic all the way (although we're a bit sunburnt), and we were fortunate enough to pass through many lovely towns along the Rhein River. We'll be biking for several hours every day for the next six days straight, culminating in a 150 kilometer trip from Ulm to Munich this Friday.

We're all a bit exhausted, and the rest of the journey will certainly be even more difficult, but we can't wait to finish out this trip on behalf of the CNADC! Thanks again for your support!

Best,

Pat, Zach, and Xavier

P.S. We'll try to get some pictures out in the next update. We've had some trouble uploading from mobile. 

Hey everyone!

Zach, Xavier, and I have had a fantastic journey so far. We've already made it almost 250 kilometers from Amsterdam to Essen. The cities were beautiful and lively on the route, and the open bike paths throughout all of The Netherlands made for a phenomenal trip thus far. Tomorrow we depart for Düsseldorf, and we should knock out a few hundred kilometers more in the ensuing 3 or 4 days. Thanks for following along, and we look forward to sending out some more updates. 

Cheers,

Pat, Xavier, and Zach