Ron wasn't someone with whom I had a great deal in common in high school. He was in different cliques, played different sports, and was involved in different activities. In fact, I was more familiar with his older brother than I was with him.
More than 20 years later, it seems we have far more in common and I can very much relate to the life he lived. He was a father who loved spending time with his young daughter. Today, I saw pictures of him sharing his love of the outdoors with her, seemingly from the day of her birth. He was a hard worker who did what was required to provide for his family, including leaving his home town to travel to the east coast. He was a marathoner with a wife who marveled at his accomplishments.
Ron's wife shared with me that he dreamed of completing Goofy's Marathon and a half at Disney World in Florida. That's one more thing we had in common.
Today, I saw the wife and daughter Ron loved dealing with pain nobody would wish upon another. Nothing I or anybody else can do can take that pain away. The love of their family will help with some of the emotional pain. As friends, we hope to help with some of the financial pain.
As mentioned before, I will do a run in Ron's honor. Just how far I run will be, in part, up to everyone who reads this blog, along with other friends and family from other venues. My goal is to help raise $1000 for the family through the Ron Smead Charitable Foundation. While there are many ways to contribute locally, I believe in the power of the Internet.
On the sidebar, and in all posts for the next few weeks, you will see a PayPal donation button (just under my profile pic). That is a direct link to the donation page for the charitable foundation set up by Ron's friends. This allows a separation between donors and myself. Any donations will be visible to the foundation administrators, and only total dollar amounts will be provided to me for the purposes of tracking the challenge.
If you feel moved to contribute to help this family, simply click the "Donate" button. Donations can be made with a PayPal account, or with a credit card. After completing the donation information, there is a link for "Notes to Seller." If you click that link and add the comment "Ultraman," they will know it is a donation for the ultramarathon challenge. I will find some convenient way of tracking those totals on this site.
For starters, we already have a total of $25.00 in donations, and hope to see that increase quickly as fellow students and others spread the news. Several people have already expressed their support and offered to add their donations.
As always, I know how many solicitations we all receive. I hope you will see the benefit of helping a family and need, and appreciate your support.
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