Ron's Marathon
For those of you who don’t know me,
my name is Ron Coleman. On October 20th,
I will be running my first marathon in Newport,
Rhode Island. No, I will not be running the length of the
tiny state, just half the state twice. I have been burning up the road for the past
4 months and of course, all good things come with a price. The price- I might need my own wheel chair
after I finish running 26.2 miles. The
reward- there is a 5 year old who I love with every ounce of my body who I hope
will benefit from my efforts.
My 5 year old nephew, Brandon, who
lives in RI, suffers from an undiagnosed medical condition. Basically, he’s been fighting for his life
since the day he was born. 2007 was a particularly
life threatening year for him. He spent
10 weeks in the hospital enduring a life-saving surgery, and a second surgery
to insert a permanent tracheotomy to help clear his weak lungs. As of today, he
is doing better. Brandon has just started his first days of
kindergarten. He is, however, confined
to a wheelchair and a cumbersome medical device which he needs to breathe. Yet regardless of the remarkable setbacks
he’s encountered in his short life, he is vivacious and has a personality that
you’d have to be lifeless not to fall
in love with.
On August 4, 2007, we held our
first fundraiser for Brandon in his hometown of Riverside, RI. Turnout was great and we were fortunate
enough to raise over $26,000!
Realistically though, that is just a dent in what Brandon needs to give
him and his parents, my sister and brother-in-law, a normal life (whatever that
might be). Right now Brandon lives in a small home which he can’t
make his way around alone. Narrow
hallways that can’t accommodate his wheel chair make it impossible for him to
get from his room to the family room. A
more spacious, handicap accessible home would allow him to develop the
self-reliant functional skills he needs to grow and live. Brandon also
lacks a handicapped-accessible van, which would be helpful to carry Brandon and his wheel
chair, and also all of his medical devices and supplies that he needs when he
leaves the house. All total, Brandon needs about
$150,000 to cover house and van expenses.
Just as I’m challenging myself to
run 26.2 miles in my goal time of under four hours, I have a challenge for
you. As I run, I ask you to support and
sponsor me so that I might help one of the greatest loves of my life and give
my buddy a chance to be a typical kid.
I’m only asking for a small monetary contribution for each mile that I
run. With the help and support of
generous people like you I know we can pull together and help an extraordinary
kid.
Please fill out the attached
sponsorship form and return it to me at here.
or my home address (see below). This
will help me keep track of who is sponsoring my marathon run. Also, you can either securely donate at www.helpbrandon.com
Please feel free to read through
this article (http://www.eastbayri.com/story/289534491000018.php)
to get to know Brandon a little better.
Also, please pass this to anyone, mom, dads, extended family,
co-workers, rich CEO’s, or if you have a company who would like to sponsors
me. I prefer dollars, but I will take
coins too.
If you have any questions, feel
free to contact mehere.
And if you are in the
RI area, please come support me at the RI Breakers Marathon.
http://www.breakersmarathon.org
http://www.breakersmarathon.org/breakersnewportcourse_lg.gif
THANK
YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT
Hi There!
I wanted to take a minute and thank you for the great
support. The marathon went very well. I completed the whole 26.2
miles, and yes I ran the whole thing. It took me 3 hours and 38
minutes. I should have done better but the second half of the run was
all up hill!!!! Talk about a killer at mile 25, VERY steep hill LOL!
For the most important part, we were able to raise over
$2,000 with donations still coming in.
Again, I wanted to thank you for helping my nephew. I really appreciate your generosity.
-Ron
MARATHON SPONSORS
Graphic Ink
The Paint Shopes
Benjamin Moore
S&W Appliances
R.C. Remodeling
Jim Hofman
Greg Pariso
Passonno Group
Sikkens Coatings
Walsh Associates
Wooster Brush CO.
Soiree Salon, Spa
F
ine Paints of Europe
Titan Spray Equipment
Lancaster Corporation
Capital City Financial Corp.
The Dearnley's
The Leddy's
The Burlette's
The McNaughton's
Lisa Almanza
Houston County Ladies Shrine Auxiliry
Richard Bowen
Garrett Pollard
Ron Petricka
Dennis Barletta
Susan Zakkak
Janice Harrison
Carter Berkeley
Theresa Herman
Millie Andreozzi
Charlene Russell