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Well, it's is finished! My first marathon is in the books and we raised over $840 for Welcome House in the process. Pretty cool. Again, I want to thank each of you for your generous donation. It truly is for a great cause that helps people right in our own backyard.

As for the race, it was pretty awesome to make it to the finish line. I had a bit of bad luck to come down with a cough/cold before the race, so the race for me was a real fight to the finish but it was worth every bit of effort. And knowing that all of you were so kind to sponsor me helped keep me going on those last windy miles along the East Shoreway back into downtown. In the end it took me 4 hours 27  minutes to finish.

Finally, a few people have mentioned to me that they'd intended to make a donation and didn't, or would prefer to donate off-line. That's great -- you can continue to donate via this web site or you can donate directly to Welcome House at 20575 Center Ridge Rd # 200, Rocky River OH 44116.

Thank you for your generosity, and for helping make this endeavor so worthwhile. All the best, -Mike

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Dear friends and family,

This May 21st I will be running in the Cleveland Marathon. It will be my first ever marathon and I couldn't be more excited. Along the way I've committed to raising a little money for Welcome House in Northeast Ohio and and I'm hoping you'll help in that goal by sponsoring me in the Cleveland Marathon.

I started training for the marathon Jannuary 15th in the dead of the Cleveland winter. Through May 8th I've ran over 330 miles in training, and before the marathon will have ran about 360+ miles! And by that time, with your help, we will have raised over $1000 for Welcome House, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing residential services to individuals with mental retardation. 

Why Welcome House? I chose this charitable organization because it meant so much to my father, Ralph Bruner. As some of you know, my father Ralph passed away in 2001 after a short and sudden bought with cancer. In the years prior he volunteered and worked part-time at Welcome House's Pearl House location helping men there live fuller lives. He loved to take "the boys" out on field trips to Indians games and other places, and it was commonplace for my family to share our holidays and family events with men from Pearl House. Although my dad is no longer with us, Welcome House's mission remains a worthy one and deserving of your donation. You can learn more at the Welcome House web site.

So how does this work? Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me. Any amount will make a difference but please try to give generously! I am suggesting donors consider one of three levels of donations:
$13 = $0.50/mile
$26 = $1/mile
$54 = $2/mile

Both Welcome House and I really appreciate your donation. Many thanks for your support. Mike

Please check with your employer to see if they have an employee charitable gift matching program; this is a great way to double (or even triple) your donation! If you work at Progressive, you can read more about that here. The EIN number for Welcome House is 34-1793226 (you may need that to receive matching funds).

Finally, if you are interested in minutia or want to be entertained by the struggle of it all, here are the running routes and a training log I'm keeping.