Hello friends!

First off, thank you for even clicking on the link to get you to this page! As you may already know, I'm training to run a  marathon this spring, and the cause I've chosen to run for is autism. Why? My sister teaches kids with severe autism and thus has many first-hand experiences dealing with the condition, so I know how it can affect everybody it touches. Understanding that it's a very important cause and every single dollar bill will be put toward bettering lives, I figured the more important question was "why not?" I couldn't think of an answer...

Now - why a marathon? Well, the more important question is, why not the other races? A few reasons...

5K - The longest race I've ever run, actually, and I've done plenty of those so that's out of the picture.

10K - I feel like I could do 6.2 miles in my sleep...with my hands tied behind my back...after Wile E. Coyote tied my shoelaces together.

Half-marathon - Three weeks into my training I was running 7 miles with ease. What's 13?

Marathon - I've always been a pretty in-shape guy and, as my sister so aptly put it not too long ago, if I wanted to I could be built "like a brick shit-house."

So help support me in my journey to fund autism research...and be built like a brick shit-house. Keep in mind, this is not money to support me - this is money to support the millions of individuals affected by autism.

I will have updates about my training on my blog at jeffhirz.blogspot.com.  You can also follow me on Twitter at twitter.com/jhirz. Visit the blog and follow me if you'd like to stay updated on my journey toward brick shit-houseness.

Much love,

Jeff