Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Many of you know that I have run this race the last 3 years. Thanks to the help of our family and friends, we have raised a lot of money for OAR. I am personally grateful to those who gave. The outpouring of support and prayers was (and still is) overwhelming. So thanks. Some of you know that I ran the 26.2 miles in 2006 with an injury. By God's Great Grace I pushed on through. My time wasn't even near where it should have been, but I finished and I give God all the glory for that. And of course in 2007, the Chicago Marathon was the hottest marathon in history or something like that. So again, my time was over an hour off. 2008 was better but the temperature still got high enough that they put out the red "dangerous" conditions flag.  So again the heat slowed me down.  But I know that my four + hours of suffering pales by comparison to those who live with autism everyday. Autism is a disease that affects the communication and social systems of 1 out of every 150 children born today. These numbers are getting worse. Our dear little one is not alone. Parenting Chloë is both a wonderful blessing from our Maker, and a difficult challenge. The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) works to help families through these challenges. The essence of OAR's mission is to provide practical answers to parents, teachers, and caregivers through applied research, not just theories. They develop research that examines the effectiveness of current treatments and methods as well as exploring new techniques. OAR funds studies that offer new insight to individuals and families that are affected by autism. This information will help families and educators with the decisions and challenges they face everyday. The focus of this organization is in the now, with an eye on how these autistic persons will be able to live and function though adulthood. We have already got a  start on preparations for the Chloe K RUN/ROCK/RIDE 2009 Event. Please continue to support us with your prayers. Please pray that my training and fundraising will go well this year and that I will be able to run a strong race. I run for His Glory. I can only do it by the Grace of our LORD JESUS CHRIST and by the help and support of those whose lives have been touched by our precious Chloe K. Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast, tax deductible and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to my fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too! If you would rather donate by check, make checks payable to OAR and put "Jeff Rayburn" in the memo. Then email me at jeffandsusie@nwiis.com and we will figure out the best way to get it from you. VISIT MY BLOG PERIODICALLY TO KEEP UP TO DATE ON MY PROGRESS: http://jeffrayburn.blogspot.com/ You can also check out http://www.jeffrayburn.com to see pics from the CK5KRRR events of the last two years.  Hope to see you on May 16, 2009 for the biggest Chloë K yet.