Welcome to My Personal Page
As many of you know, on October 25th, I will be running in my first full marathon; The Marine Corps Marathon! I initially chose this race because it is normally held in Arlington, Virginia and both starts and finishes in near Arlington National Cemetery, where Keith is buried.
Fitness has always been important to me, but after Keith was killed, I felt I need somewhere positive that I could channel my grief so I started running. I had run when I was younger and had done a few 5Ks here and there. However, in order to honor Keith, I signed up to run in the Marine Corps 10K which is run on the same day as the marathon and also finishes at the Iwo Jima Memorial, next to Arlington National cemetery. A 10K was twice as far as I had run and felt that it was goal that I could work towards without being overwhelmed at the distance. That year, Hannah participated in the Marine Corps kids mile long "fun run". In subsequent years, I continued with the tradition and as Hannah got older, she eventually joined me in the 10K race.
Starting from that first 10K and continuing to this first marathon, I will be running with Team TAPS. TAPS, or Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors provides direct support to families who have been impacted by a death in the military regardless of the geography or circumstance. TAPS reached out to me just few short weeks after Keith had died and continues to provide programing we benefit from. I have attended numerous National Military Survivor Seminars and Hannah has participated in Good Grief Camps for kids. Through these events, we can connect with other surviving military spouses and children who have gone through the same losses and we can feel that military family connection we lost when we were no longer part of the active duty military through Keith's service. Currently, Hannah and I are participating with a TAPS program that is helping her to prepare for her college experience and they are educating us about how her VA and DoD education benefits will work.
The funds I raise will flow directly into TAPS programming which supports families through an amazing network of resources, seminars and publications. TAPS provides these services at no charge to survivors from all branches of the service, including Reserves and National Guard. TAPS’ programs and services are available not only for immediate family, but also for extended family and friends. Please help me honor our fallen heroes by supporting me in this effort. No donation is too big or too small. Together we will honor the life, love, and legacy of our fallen military heroes--while raising funds and awareness for TAPS
Thank you!
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