1st Annual Jenny's Twenty a Fun Run!

The day of the run finally arrived, and so did some runners -- we had about 15 or so happy people turn up this morning, excited to run and to be out in support of Jenny and Ed. The run started at precisely 8:30 after hot coffee from Rockford and water from Town & Country, bagels from BagelWorks and pastries from Great Harvest, fresh fruit courtesy of Heebs and many generous farmers from the Saturday morning farmers market, and some pre-race instructions about the course and following markers (which is when the race directer should have been remembering to pre-race fuel!)... and then we were off!

About two-thirds of the runners chose to turn around part way, most making it to the bridge near the five-mile point for some water and a quick chat with our bike-support crew. We had six feet-on-the-ground finishers -- a lucky seven including our honorary runner, the two-year-old junior member of the Johnson clan who was "run" all the way up to Mystic Lake and back in his jogger by his dad.

To "prove" a twenty-mile finish with a turnaround at Mystic Lake, all runners who made it to the halfway point were each given one of the new "Jenny's Tour de Cure" light blue spinal cord injury special edition silicone bracelets, an additional project to help continue to raise funds to provide for Jenny's care and which will be available for sale in various stores around Bozeman (and beyond!) within the next few weeks.

All the finishers spent some time noshing on the great food and drink, catching up on news about Jenny's rehab progress, and using fabric pens to sign the giant cloth banner that will be taken down to her at Craig hospital next week after hanging at Rockford Coffee for the greater Bozeman community to see and sign.

We also had a great turnout of volunteers to supply and man the water, sign-in and parking-lot picnic stations: thanks so much to sign-in tablers Larry and Marie, bike support and water crew Marla, Rich, Angie and special-bike-angel Steve, and extra kudos to Freida for being the parking lot pointperson for the entire race which was a longer term than expected!

RAFFLE: The definitive decision was made this morning and seconded by the runners to extend the raffle one more week to allow more time for tickets to circulate and more funds to be raised through ticket sales. The draw will be next Saturday night, September 1st, and announced both here on the blog and by the winners being contacted directly. In keeping with the theme of the event, there will be 20 prize packages raffled off, so that's 20 chances to win!! Thank you so much to all the awesome vendors who have donated (and continue to donate, it all just keeps coming!) raffle prizes, are selling tickets, and promoting the event.

And a HUGE thank you to everyone who came out today or sent donations in support, and all who are continuing to send love, energy, and positive thoughts to Jenny. Write to her at:

Jenny McCune
c/o Craig Hospital for Spinal Injury Research
3425 South Clarkson Street
Englewood, CO 80113
http://www.carepages.com/PatientContact?seed=173866&ClusterNodeID=jb01&tlcx1=craig&tlcx2=2426926

....and STAY TUNED -- the 2nd annual Jenny's Twenty will be coming at you JULY 20TH, 2008... !!!

Last Thoughts Before the Run

Well, most of the course is market and cleared, donations have come in for raffle prizes and food and water, runners and hikers from all over town are popping up saying they will be there tomorrow morning... it's almost here! A few quick but key notes before run-day:

Carpooling -- the word has spread so well and so fast that I can't help but worry about the limited parking at the Bozeman Creek Trailhead...! Please post to the link about carpooling with your contact info and neighborhood location if you either need a ride or are looking to share one.

Food & Water -- we did get donations of food and water from several businesses in town for runners after the they finish, but depending on how many runners turn up there may not be enough to cover everyone. Please remember that this is a self-supported run: bring a water bottle and water for yourself, snacks, gels or energy bars, and food for recovery.

Course -- nice and soft, dry, and cleared as of about 9pm tonight. All the turns and trail deviations are clearly marked, as will be explained in the pre-run instructions about 5-10 minutes before the run begins.

Messages to Jenny -- there will be an opportunity to send messages to Jenny by signing a large banner at the trailhead; the banner will also hang at Rockford Coffee all day Monday for those unable to make it to the trailhead tomorrow.

Raffle tickets -- tickets will be available at the trailhead before, during and after the run, along with a list of donors as well as where tickets can be purchased around town

...and that's about it!! Hard to believe that tomorrow is finally here, and that we will all have a chance to run together and make something special happen for Jenny. Anyone with any last questions can post to the blog, drop me an email, or give me a call at the number listed under the raffle ticket info posted on the right.

Thanks,
~Antonia

Great News From Jenny

I talked to Jenny and Ed today just before going on the air with Larry at KGLT... She told me that Ed put some nuts in her lap, and she was able after some time to grasp the nuts with the fingers of one hand, and get them into her mouth -- the first time she has fed herself since before the accident. She wanted me to say "Thank You!" to all who are running or hiking and to all who have contributed their time and efforts towards pulling this together and showering her with love. She said that on the low days, when it's harder for her to see the progress in all the strides she's made, seeing the example of so many people who care has really helped keep her spirits up. Yay for Jenny, and for everyone who helped make this run posisible!!

Tune in to KGLT Tomorrow at 3pm

The Larry Newman show on KGLT tomorrow, Saturday August 25th from 3-6 pm, will be themed around Jenny, the "Jenny's Twenty" run, and updates on the raffle, your questions, and more. I will be on the show from 3 till about 3:45 talking with Larry (who has known and cycled with Jenny for years) and giving an overview of what Sunday has in store, complete with any updates on anything that happens between now and then (and things seem to be happening about every twenty (!) minutes at this point!). KGLT streams online, so you can catch it live from anywhere in the country! So tune in, and if you have any questions give the station a ring at 406-994-4492.

Raffle Pool Grows

The number of businesses donating raffle prizes has just grown by leaps and bounds (see the box at the right). There will be a list of contributors posted at the run this Sunday. The tickets are slow in getting out to be sold; there was a printing glitch and they will not be out and around town until tomorrow morning. There has been discussion of postponing the drawings to give the snowball time to gather some speed -- updates on this point to follow.

From Jenny 8/22

An excerpt from Jenny's blog...

August 22, 2007 at 08:45 PM MDT

Today Wednesday I made great progress. I think it was just because I decided to focus on trying to gain as much independence as I can in the body I have now, rather than worrying about how I used to be or speculating about what progress I will make and when.
So, today I started trying to do a bunch of things without worrying about success or failure. I succeeded in moving my right pinky for the first time. I also figured out how to turn my wheel chair off as well as how to turn off the light switch to my room. I'm not there yet when it comes to turning on the wheel chair -- the toggle switch to power the chair is in a very tricky spot. I tried but haven't yet figured out how to punch an elevator button yet, but I have learned how to ask for help so I can get from one floor to the next in this 3 story building. And, of course I did my usual stunts in Ot and PT. All and all a great day.
...Love, Jenny

The Raffle Heats Up...

Check out the "Raffle Prizes Provided By..." list at right, to see the updated list of businesses that have contributed or pledged prizes to the raffle to be held after the run. For those looking for ways to help out with the fun-run effort: if you are a regular patron of any of these businesses or plan to pay any of them a visit in the next few days or weeks, please let the managers or owners know (or drop in a comment card) how grateful you are for their support of Jenny and Ed by so generously donating their products or services. Raffle tickets will be available starting tomorrow, Wednesday the 23rd, at various locations around Bozeman -- see the box at right for a list of locations with map links a la GoogleMaps.

From Ed 8/22

Posted today by Ed on Jenny's Craig Carepage blog:

August 22, 2007 at 01:41 PM MDT

Hello friends and family from Ed,

....It's been a wonderful and challenging experience being here with Jenny. She will be at Craig until the end of October. I will be returning to Bozeman on September 1 for 6 weeks, returning to Craig for Jenny's last two weeks. I need to start to figure out the ins and outs of us living in Bozeman. Part of that is what to do with the Trail Creek house since it is unlikely that Jenny can live there. Another is to find somewhere that we can afford to live in town. Ideas and suggestions are welcome.

I plan to be back to teaching the day after Labor Day. I want to thank all the wonderful teachers who backed me up while I was away. I would love to come up with a way or ways for all of you to continue to be a part of the Bozeman Yoga Center. With the loss of Jenny's income for the foreseeable future, the center needs to grow in number if classes and profitability. I hope the teachers will consider keeping classes as part of the schedule paid by me, or teaching classes or workshops or privates of your own in the space. For the students, I expect the rates to go up a bit. Probably $60/ month with 10% off for COOP members. Please forgive and understand the need.

Beyond that, it will be a difficult time for me personally being in Bozeman without Jenny. I hope my friends will help me through this time. It is very likely that Jenny will winter in Florida with her cousin, who lives near a good spinal cord rehab center, since Bozeman winter and the availability of physical therapy here would be too difficult. My job will be to pave the way for her return in the Spring. Help, suggestions, ideas, support and love are welcome and very necessary to my ability to get through this.

Thanks and Love
ED

The Word Gets Out... On the Airwaves!

Thanks to the dear folk at KGLT, several of whom know and used to ride with Jenny, news about the run is getting discussed between all the wonderful music played on Bozeman's (heck, let's just admit it, EVERYONE'S!) favorite community radio station. In the middle of Catapalooza-chaos, (ie. many college students running round on the lawns to different booths collecting tons of free stuff from local businesses while many others waited on line for their coursebooks), someone -- you know who you are -- made the time to create a PSA and get it out on the air. You can listen to KGLT streaming online here.

Spare the Air, Share your Spare -- CARE-POOL! And other green things

Since those of us who run tend to love the great outdoors (and who doesn't?!), it would be most excellent if we keep the environment as much in mind as possible this Sunday. If you know others who are planning to come out and run, please carpool (or care-pool as the Berkeley environmentalist set calls it) out to the trailhead, which will also help keep the parking situation as friendly and neighborly as possible. Need a ride? Don't know if anyone you know is going? Use the "post reply" feature to this post to network for rides.

Please also keep track of any gel or energy bar wrappers that encase the fuel you bring with you, and any other refuse you create. The mantra of the woods: if you pack it in, please pack it out. We will collect trash, recyclables, and compost at the trailhead and the 10-mile turnaround point at Mystic Lake, so at all points in between if each runner/hiker could be mindful of their own detritus that would be a big help!

Not Up for 20 Miles? Not a problem!

You do NOT have to commit to a distance to come out and enjoy the woods, the camaraderie, and the spirit of the Jenny's Twenty run -- in fact, you don't need to run at all if that's not your style! This is not a race, it is a group activity -- being active outdoors, as a community of people, for a common goal... something that Jenny is very much a believer in and has given a great deal of time in both promoting and inspiring others to do. If you want to turn around halfway, you can! If you want to hike the whole 20 miles, you rock! The only difference between those who finish all 20 and those who don't is the extra mileage they get to put in their training logs (yeah, yeah, us distance freaks are all about the numbers), the glory of the completion, and an extra bonus entry into the Jenny's Twenty Benefit Raffle which will be held after the run. So don't let that "20" scare you off if you are a short- or non-distance runner but want to come out to support Jenny -- it's a FUN run, and fun always has room for everyone!

Welcome to the Jenny's Twenty Blog!

This is where you can check in over the remaining few days (boy this is coming together fast!) for run information, a list raffle donors and where to buy raffle tickets, find directions to the trailhead and info on the run course, and updates directly from Jenny's blog on her progress at Craig Hospital for Spinal Cord Injury Rehabilitation. Stay tuned as we fill in the blog over the next 24 hours with all you need to know as this Sunday draws closer, and thanks for giving Jenny your support!