I’ve never met Dawn, and I likely never will, but tonight I ran 5 miles for her. 

My day started at 6:30 am with some early conference calls.  The weather outside was nothing short of frightful; cold, rainy, windy, definitely not running weather (at least not for me :))  By the time I got home I was approaching what I call “the danger zone”; the time when it’s easier to reach for the TV remote than your running shoes.  I settled onto the sofa ready for a night of checking emails and watching TV.

Then I got this donation email:
Hi Katy

Thank you for inviting me to participate - mycousin Dawn also has Crohn’s disease. Enclosed are copies of my donation and company matching. Please let me know if you don’t see it come thru.  Good luck on the training! 

I will leave the donor anonymous- but I cannot tell you how much it meant to me to get this message.  It reminded me how many people out there are impacted by this terrible disease, and also reminded me that every dollar I raise is helping us get closer to finding a cure.  Everytime someone donates to this cause reminds me of how generous and caring people are.

So I got up off the couch, changed, drove to the gym and ran a fantastic 5 miles for Dawn- someone I will likely never meet, but had such a special impact on me today.