The Jimmy Fund walk to beat cancer

[Pebbles]

I don't think I could ever come up with enough words to thank you for all of your hard work. Not only in training for the walk but for the time and committment you gave to collect funds.

I truly believe that all the loved ones you carried with you were by your side every step you took.

Thank you so much. Hopefully one day there will be a cure so that other people and families will not have to endure what we have.

[ledhead36]

Good job!

[jigfreak]

Way to get it done, doublerunner.

[Doublerunner]

Here is my follow up letter that I am sending to all my supporters. I thought you all might like to see it. I apologize in advance for it being so long.

************************************************** *
Dear Stripers and Anglers members and administrators,

I am sending this letter to all the people who supported me in the 2010 Jimmy Fund Walk to conquer cancer. This is a re-cap of my thoughts and the events leading up to, during, and after the walk.

First, thank you so much for your support. I truly realized that we all can make a difference. I am but one man but the people that I have talked to and met are truly appreciative of my efforts and I can not do that without your support. I received so many pictures and letters of loved ones who have passed or who are battling cancer right now. Those pictures and letters moved me to great heights.

In my training leading up to the day of the walk the furthest I walked was 12 miles and for the next 3 days I had trouble walking normally. Once I got past 12 miles on this day I knew there was no turning back. I knew I would have physical issues but those will heal. And whenever I needed inspiration I would touch my pouch where I held the pictures and letters and I would close my eyes and think about their stories and faces and they would carry me on. These names and faces will continue on with me every year as I continue to do this. Hopefully they find cures and treatments real soon so I don’t have to put my old body through this for too much longer

My training. I basically had 6 weeks to train for this. In the beginning I was walking at night but in my business I have no air conditioning and I move a lot of heavy items on a daily basis so night training was just too hard. I switched to early mornings getting up at 4 am and walking most every day. This was much better except for having to adjust to going to bed at 8-9 pm. In the final week leading up to the walk I only trained twice and none after Wednesday

My sponsors. I reached out in many ways. I sent letters and emails to personal and business friends. I also contacted those who had donated in the past when my father did this walk. I was very fortunate to get a great response from many people as well as having 2 charity auctions held for my benefit from my fishing friends and also a meat shoot held on my behalf by my friends at the local Eagles club. As of this writing it is hard to determine exactly how much we have raised but I am estimating my own personal goal of $2,500 raised to fall a little short at about $2,300 and the total for our team, team SPIRIT, to be atleast $4,500. Team SPIRIT this year consisted of not only myself but also my wife Robin, sisters Kelly and Barbara, friend Jacob, son Ryan, niece Veronica and nephew Jack. And of course my Dad John Sr who was able to join us for the last mile of the walk. And even though she is not listed as a member of the team let’s not forget my Mom who has been behind the scenes of this event for 16 years now. Not asking for any recognition but always there to support my Dad with his efforts to raise money and in training. Always there on walk day to take pictures or provide food or drink or care

Walk day. The night before the walk I am anxious and having trouble falling asleep. It’s also Sept 11th, the anniversary of 9/11 and the TV shows all day are stories and footage of that day. The alarm goes off at 3:45 and I am up and in the shower. By 4:45 my wife and I are ready and head off to Hopkinton.

It’s dark when we arrive and the shuttles are not running yet so we walk from the parking area to the start line. This adds almost another mile to our walk. But the weather is perfect. It’s cool with cloud cover and a nice breeze. High’s of the day only expected to be around 70. We meet with my friend Jacob and we’re on our way at 6 am sharp. We’re all feeling good and strong and we are moving along well. The first 3 miles we averaged 18 minutes per mile which is excellent for me as I was averaging 20 minutes per mile in training. Perhaps it’s the excitement of the day but we’re not overdoing it and we’re all comfortable and moving along well. My friend Jacob is much younger than I and in great condition and I know I am holding him back from his pace but he doesn’t mind holding back and staying with me and I am glad he did. We go past my business in less than 2 hours at the 6 mile mark and everyone is still feeling good. I am starting to feel some burning on the balls of my right foot and at the 8 mile mark there is a rest area where I can get some medical attention and they apply moleskin to the balls of both feet to help prevent blisters and provide cushioning. This helps for a little while but a few miles later at Natick Center I stop again and ask them to apply more which they do and this really helps a lot. Along the way there are motivational posters and people cheering you on. There are also posters of children and adults fighting their own battle against cancer. And you can see many of the walkers have pictures and/or names of loved ones on their tee shirts. It’s a very moving experience. We are now closing in on Babson College where my son Ryan joins in with us. Great timing. His youth and energy give me a much needed lift and we cover the next 5 miles to Newton Lower Falls with ease and we stop at the rest area at mile 16 to grab some lunch and medical attention. I have the moleskin replaced on my feet and change into dry sox. As we’re leaving my Sister Kelly is just arriving. She started in Hopkinton an hour after us and is making great time. We head out knowing she will catch up to us shortly. We make the turn onto Commonwealth Ave and head towards the Heartbreak Hills stretch of the walk. As we finish those hills I am feeling a lot of tightness in the lower half of my body everywhere and my blisters have now also spread to my heels. It’s only a little further to Boston College and I figure I can get medical attention there. But, much to my surprise, there is nothing available there so we carry on and my sister Kelly joins us at Cleveland Circle. As the 5 of us head out from there my wife and I are having a lot of trouble walking. My wife’s arch on her right foot is severely cramping and she has a blister bleeding through her sox and sneaker on her left foot. But she fights through it. Her tenacity and willpower is amazing. But we are lagging behind the others. It’s at this point, about 22 miles into the walk, that I am on the brink. But something inside me takes over and I decide that if I am going to be sore that I mine as well get this over as quickly as possible and I summon up the ability to walk as fast as I can. Before I know it I have passed my teammates and Ryan joins up with me and Jacob stays right with us. We are now starting to pass others and we’re looking for safe areas to pass when the sidewalk is congested with too many walkers. The pain is constant but we’re now on a mission. We motor past Fenway Park and turn the corner onto Boylston St. We’re getting close. Just a little ways down the road we meet my Dad and he walks the last mile or so in with us. This is very special as my Dad has done the whole walk for the last 15 years. But the last mile bogs down with the amount of walkers all getting to the end and with the road roped off and narrowed down to funnel the walkers to the finish line the last mile takes much too long and there is too much standing around in traffic. During this slowdown my body is now starting to stiffen up and all the aches and pains are magnified. We make it through the finish line and there is a tremendous release of satisfaction and joy. There are volunteers there clapping and cheering for us and to award us our medals. There’s a band playing and people enjoying the celebration. But all I want to do is get off my feet and get treatment. My parents have brought their vehicles in to a local parking garage and so we all head back to their house for a celebration. It feels good to get off my feet and get my sneakers off. Unfortunately I have 2 large blisters on the balls of my feet but the worst are my heels. Each one has a blister about the size of an egg. On the drive back my wife gets ill and we pull over so she can get some fresh air. I feel so bad for her. We’re all nursing our aches and pains but getting home and getting some good food and drink helps us all to feel better and we all get some treatment for our ills. It’s now 3 days later as of this writing and we’re all recovering. We’re having a lot of soreness and some funky movements when we walk but we’re healing fast and getting better.

This year was a record year for the walk. Over 8,500 registered walkers and approx 7 million dollars raised. I am proud to have been a part of it. The real heroes and warriors are those who deal with this every day. Those afflicted with cancer and those treating us. They say that with the advances made in research that we may find a cure within our lifetime. That day can not come soon enough

Respectfully,
John and Robin Meadows
9/14/2010

[cowherder]

Here is my follow up letter that I am sending to all my supporters. I thought you all might like to see it. I apologize in advance for it being so long.

************************************************** *
Dear Stripers and Anglers members and administrators,

First, thank you so much for your support. I truly realized that we all can make a difference. I am but one man but the people that I have talked to and met are truly appreciative of my efforts and I can not do that without your support. I received so many pictures and letters of loved ones who have passed or who are battling cancer right now. Those pictures and letters moved me to great heights.

Respectfully,
John and Robin Meadows
9/14/2010

Fantastic, I truly beleive that too, that we can all make a difference. Kudos.

[JakeF]

John, it was a pleasure to walk with you. Looking forward to next year!!

Thanks again to everyone here at S&A for your support Team Spirit and the Jimmy Fund. You guys are great!