Dear Family and Friends,
On Tuesday April 14, 2009, I was finishing up a relaxing 5-mile jaunt down the Charles River. My spirits were high as I pondered the marathon I was scheduled to run the following Monday. As the sun shone across the water on one of Cambridge's first real days of Spring, the beauty of the sunrise and the crew boat passing underneath Weeks footbridge distracted me from the stone gutter that lay dangerously to my left, the direction in which I was moving. Ecstasy plummeted to agony and pain when I rolled my ankle hard on the uneven surface, taking a nasty dive on the bridge. As I looked down at my bloodied knee and ankle then the size of a grapefruit, I knew but one thing: I would not run the Boston Marathon in six days.
But now, after x-rays, crutches, physical therapy and continued bouts of injury, I am at last healthy and ready to run. It has been an arduous journey, testing my patience and pride above all else. I doubt I will run as fast as I would have last year, but on April 19, 2010, I will run my first continuous 26.2 miles as an official entrant in the Boston Marathon. Although it may be the first marathon I race, I say with pride that I have trained for two.
I am lucky enough to have this opportunity because of the Harvard College Marathon Challenge. In return for a certain amount of fundraising, I get to bypass the seemingly Olympian time qualifications required to run the Boston Marathon. The charity that benefits has occupied a significant place in the past three years of my college experience. The Philips Brooks House Association (PBHA), an umbrella student organization that manages dozens of service groups, receives the money you donate through this page. One of PBHA's most successful ventures is the Harvard Square Homeless Shelter, where I volunteer overnight every Wednesday from 11pm until the following morning at 8:30am. Sleeping for only about five of those nine-and-a-half hours, I have the privilege of serving the 24 nightly guests. Sometimes we chat about whatever piques their interest, other times I get to whip up some late-night grilled cheese and early morning pancakes & eggs. I assure you from my personal experience that PBHA ranks among the most deserving of charities.
So, if you would like to support me as I trot along for over three hours of my favorite workout, please consider making a donation. You can either do so here through the site, or send me a check made out to "Harvard College Marathon Challenge" to the following address:
Dillon Powers
511 Kirkland Mail Center
95 Dunster Street
Cambridge, MA 02138
I'll be accepting donations until May 3rd. Also, if you'd like to track my race day progress online, go to http://www.bostonmarathon.org/ and enter my bib number, which is 24690 (I should be across the start line around 10am Eastern).
Thank you so much for visting my fundraising page! For more information about HCMC, please visit the Harvard College Marathon Challenge website.
All my best,
Dillon