<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bi4WILLVnm0/UfUjMKX4XhI/AAAAAAAABDY/sdft9DIatIc/s1600/nbfrr.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="152" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bi4WILLVnm0/UfUjMKX4XhI/AAAAAAAABDY/sdft9DIatIc/s320/nbfrr.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>So, two weeks from this very moment (at least, the very moment I'm typing this) the gun will go off and the 41st running of the Falmouth Road Race will begin. 10 minutes later the 5th corral will be allowed to start and off I'll go. A few minutes later, the 6th corral and off goes my fiancee Megan.<br /><br />Holy. <b>Crap.</b><br /><br />This is what we've been working up to since March (whether we knew it or not) when we went for that first run.<br /><br /><a name='more'></a><br /><br />That's great Darrell, but <b>what if I don't know what the Falmouth Road Race is?</b><br /><br />The&nbsp;<a href="http://www.falmouthroadrace.com/" target="_blank">Falmouth Road Race</a><b> (which is kind of a big deal) </b>is a 7.4 mile road race from Woods Hole to Falmouth Heights. The course goes by&nbsp;<a href="http://lighthouse.cc/nobska/" target="_blank">Nobska Lighthouse</a>, along some scenic roads, along Surf Drive (and its beaches), along the beach at Falmouth Heights, all the way around Grand Ave. down to the finish line in front of the British Beer Company. They cap the total number of race participants somewhere around <b>12,500</b>, and they have elite runners from around the world fly in to run this thing. <br /><br /><b>And then there's us</b>.<br /><br /><b>***UPDATE***</b><br /><br />So I took a break in writing this post to actually go run the course with Megan. <b>Boy am I glad I did</b>.&nbsp;<b> </b>We learned a lot about the course and we're definitely better prepared.<br /><br /><b>OK, so...w</b><b>hy are you two running this?</b><br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zoNCdnybAAs/UfVv5rJNztI/AAAAAAAABDo/JljZJHVx6xY/s1600/413342_10100859894935542_1060323499_o.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zoNCdnybAAs/UfVv5rJNztI/AAAAAAAABDo/JljZJHVx6xY/s320/413342_10100859894935542_1060323499_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><b>&nbsp;I'm running</b> as a part of Team Lanzoni. That's the <a href="http://www.99restaurants.com/" target="_blank">99 Restaurants</a> team. Team Lanzoni is a part of <a href="http://www.runfordanafarber.org/" target="_blank">Dana-Farber Cancer Institute running programs</a>. That means that I'm running to raise money for Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.<br /><br /><b>Why?</b><br /><br />My Grandfather - Peter Scuteri. A loving husband and father, retired Malden police officer and pilot of the Malden PD K-9 program, Freemason, Shriner, and all-around hero. He passed away from cancer last July. The short story is, during his battle with cancer, he received care from Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. Dana-Farber helped my grandfather in his battle, and I wanted to use a run to raise money for them so someone else could have a fighting chance too. My other reasons for running, yes - even my new-found health and fitness, pale in comparison to this reason.<br /><br /><b>What about Megan?</b><br /><br /><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssbauTRk6ZQ/UfVyCQu7HuI/AAAAAAAABEA/rvVIyQVvoi4/s1600/977838_531255300265466_820475099_o.jpg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ssbauTRk6ZQ/UfVyCQu7HuI/AAAAAAAABEA/rvVIyQVvoi4/s320/977838_531255300265466_820475099_o.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>My fiancee Megan is running the race for a different reason. Megan's brother - Chris Boselli - passed away last summer from complications with heart surgery. He was 27 years old. His passing rocked her family in a way I can't even properly describe to you. Her family set up a memorial scholarship fund in his name to honor him by helping others who share his love of theatre and the arts. Originally, Megan had been trying to run the Falmouth Road Race on a team to raise money for this scholarship fund. <b>UNFORTUNATELY</b>, the team was not selected in the lottery.<br /><br />She still wanted to run the race. For herself and, I think, for him.<br /><br />So, long story short, she (and her sister, Kim) are running as a part of the <a href="http://www.westfalmouthlibrary.org/" target="_blank">West Falmouth Library</a> team to raise money for them. Megan went with this because, of all the fundraising opportunities available to her, this one made the most sense. Megan always has a book on her and reads like its her job. If she couldn't raise money for her brother's memorial, being able to support a place that helps others with the same hobby/habit/problem (hah) as her is a great compromise. While I have surpassed my own fundraising goal through the help of the people at Team Lanzoni HQ, Megan has not yet achieved her fundraising goal.<br /><br /><b>This is where I'm calling on you, faithful friends and readers</b>.<br /><br />Please visit <a href="https://www.firstgiving.com/fundraiser/MeganBoselli/2013-new-balance-falmouth-road-race" target="_blank">Megan's personal fundraising page</a> and consider making a donation to help her towards her $1,000 goal. As of my writing, she is at $170. There's a yard sale this coming weekend to raise money towards the goal, but it'd take way more stuff to sell than we have in order to achieve that.<br /><br /><b>Please consider helping and contributing to a great cause</b>. Megan has until August 6th to raise the money she needs - I have a few weeks after that. It would mean a lot to me if you could help her out.<br /><br />That said - the training continues. Two weeks from this moment the two of us will be celebrating a great achievement and looking forward towards the next. It's all about the journey.