First, a quick apology.  This entry was started January 6th.  Here it is February 1st and I am just now finishing it off.  My blog has been ignored for some real life issues.  These have been taken care of, I hope, and I can start writing again.  Back at Christmas, I had this idea that I would write about 12 people that inspired me over 2010.  I was going to start on Christmas day and go through Twelfth night.  As you can sede from the inactivity here, I didn’t do this but I do have a few people that I am going to write about in the next couple of days.  I am going to start with Sam Felsenfeld.

Last year, I ran 15 races.  Of these 15, three were half marathons.  I am unsure of races other than marathons but Sam ran 61 marathons in 2010.  He ran them all as part of Operation Jack.  I cannot imagine running two marathons in one year, though I hope to try to do so this year.  I definitely cannot imagine running 61 in a year.  Sam did so as a legacy for his son Jack and as a way to raise funds for the organization Train 4 Autism.

 

Sam is a husband and father of three children.  His middle child Jack was diagnosed with autism shortly after his third birthday.  Sam decided to run 61 marathons last year, 2010, to raise both funds and awareness of autism.  In the process, Sam organized a marathon – his last to be run in 2010.  He also qualified for the Boston Marathon.

 

As a parent, I understand wanting to do everything a parent can do to help one’s children in life.  I am in awe of this type of dedication.  I am not sure I could do what Sam did last year.  To establish a legacy for his son as Jack struggles with therapy and autism is an amazing testament to both father and mother.  Sam could not have trained and traveled to all these marathons without the support of his wife Tiffany and all three of his children – Benjamin, Jack and Ava.  Sam and Tiffany have both inspired me to be a better parent and to support others as they have by the sacrifices they made over the year that Sam ran 61 marathons.

 

I have to tell you here at the end that I am sure I have not done justice to the story behind Operation Jack and Sam’s 61 marathons last year.  Please visit Operation Jack and find out all the details.  Sam’s blog on that site is inspirational, also.