I’ve reached 6% of my fundraising goal so far! Thank you to those who have generously donated. This is so exciting to start with such strong financial support so early in the training/fundraising process. But I’d be remiss not to acknowledge the other types of support I’ve felt over the past few weeks. So many friends, family, and colleagues have told me how important it is to them that I’m running for NSF – and have vowed to be there cheering me on along the course in April. Those friendly words and promises are what will get me through this training process.

One thing that I think is important to note is the financial support so far from teachers in Newton Public Schools. When I reached out to my NPS colleagues about running for NSF, a number of them contributed immediately. I think this says a lot about how much Newton teachers care for the place they work, as well as what NSF’s support means to them. So thank you to everyone who has helped me with fundraising so far – but especially to those of you in NPS who know the myriad ways that our educational community can be supported.

Also this week was my first official “long” run of the season with Dreamfar High School Marathon. So many of the North and South students (40+) and their teachers represented Newton well as we ran around Jamaica Pond with students from other Greater Boston schools. Several other mentors running with Dreamfar are also training for Boston to support charities. Before the run, Dreamfar’s director shouted out each of them and the organizations they’re supporting; I was extremely touched by the applause I received, especially from Newton students, when they heard my name called out. It’s an awesome feeling to know that the students I train and train with are rooting for me! It will also be great to make connections with the other folks training for Boston as we share this training process together and with students.