Here’s a great example of what my life was like during the 52 marathons in 52 weeks, although this example is a little extreme.  Take The 2012 New York City Marathon. You may be thinking, there was no New York City Marathon in 2012.  That is correct, because about 1 hour after we landed in NYC and checked into out hotel; we found out, due to Super Storm Sandy, the marathon was cancelled.  Now what?  To keep the streak alive, I had to run a marathon that weekend.  I wrote about my New York Marathon Experience in my blog titled: The Marathon that Never Was! “It started as an exciting adventure, which quickly took a sharp turn.  As super storm sandy slammed down on the east coast, it took a piece of my heart along with it.  For me, I went to New York to run, along a with so many others, to show the American people that we are a courageous people in the face of heartbreak and recommit to hope and possibility when things are the hardest.  But it wasn’t meant to be.  We arrived on Friday at JFK.  In the cab ride to our hotel our driver was telling us all the horror stories going on.  Generators and back up generators were sitting there, not being used, and in place for the marathon.  Meanwhile there were still millions without power and shelter and some without food.  My heart sank.  As we got closer to the hotel I saw a two mile long line of cars waiting for gas.  Then I see a hanging crane dangling over the city streets. Wind had broken the massive steal crane, dozens of stories above the city streets.  If not for the wires holding it, the top of the crane, dangling 100s of feet above, would have crashed to the ground. The streets were barricaded off and no one was allowed within a block or two. I sank deeper into the floor of the taxi.  What other horrors were we in for, I wondered?  We arrive at our hotel and get a quick bite and we are ready to head to the expo for a great opportunity and interview with Poland Springs water.  I had CBS/KCAL news following my marathon adventure in New York, which quickly became more interesting to them because within just minutes after we arrived at our hotel, we hear a rumor that the marathon was cancelled.  The rumor quickly became a reality and honestly my first reaction was a sense of relief. The next thing I did was order a drink and console friends.  There was a young woman, who had also just arrived, and similar to us, also had not been to her room yet.  She had come all the way from London to do the New York Marathon. Ouch!  She was horrified, in a sad and quiet way. Now I had to figure out the next plan of action.  Quick find another marathon!  I called friends, posted on Facebook, someone please register me for the Santa Clarita marathon in California. I knew it was on the same day as New York. Next, get a flight home.  Called my travel agent and we booked the first available flight, back to LA, the next morning. We made the best out of our 12 hour stay in NYC.  I had a big press conference with the New York Roadrunners and a photo shoot which had all been cancelled.  A fantastic article in the official program was printed in mass.  Thousands of them, that no one got to see. L It would have been huge for Pancreatic Awareness.  We then had a nice dinner with David’s family, snuck into Central Park and did a quick bandit run.  The finish line had mostly been erected, but now completely abandoned.  With absolutely no one around, at night, in minimal street lighting, we ran the finish line of the New York Marathon.  Somehow, with no one there to give us a medal or even notice, it still felt good.  There is something special about a finish line, even one not fully assembled.     Early next morning we hop on a plane back to LA, with little to no sleep.  Once arrived, we immediately drive to the Santa Clarita marathon expo to register. After another few hours of sleep, Sunday morning, I am off and running the Santa Clarita marathon, #32 of 52.  The 52 lives on and the people of NYC were heard. On the way to my marathon I heard that thousands of marathoners were on the ferry to Statin Island, to help out the now homeless and displaced.  Though the storm had destroyed the hopes of the marathon, the marathoners had brought a little hope to those in need.  That made my heart sing. Santa Clarita marathon was hot and fun. It was not NYC.  We had 500 marathoners vs. 50,000.  I ended up running 28 miles.  At mile 14 I went back to help out a friend who was ready to quit, which gave me the extra miles.   This marathon adventure was a bit crazy, but nothing as hard as the fight against Pancreatic Cancer. Here is a picture of me sneaking into Central Park the night the race was cancelled to run through the finish line and on the right, here I am finishing Santa Clarita that same weekend.  Nothing would stop us, not even Super Storm Sandy!   The New York Marathon will always be special, not only because of the amazing spirit and the people, but my Dad was from Brooklyn, I know he’d be proud and I know he’s still here with me.  Next week is Santa Clarita Marathon, next week!?  Here we go again!! We Got This! Please donate today and let’s put pancreatic cancer out of business!  Thank You!  Click here to donate to Project Purple!