Comfortable Home Life | Team Damian and the Goofy Challenge

Just over a year ago, the BFF and I were having a casual conversation about running, races, and her son, Damian.

don’t judge us.

We were both signed up for a half marathon in the fall, and we were talking about maybe running a full marathon one day. I had heard about the Disney marathon, seen a few things here or there, it looked fun, so I brought it up, just as an idea for maybe 5 or 70 years from now.

Damian has both Smith-Lemli-Opitz Syndrome and Biliary Atresia. We were set to run a 5k in October to raise awareness for BA, why not run a marathon to raise awareness and money for SLOS?

After hashing out some of the major details for a bit, we realized that this might not be so crazy. A few days later, we were signed up and committed. We set a modest fundraising goal of $1000 and worked through training plans. Blood, sweat, tears, ice baths, many episodes of Car Talk and Wait, Wait, countless miles, several pairs of running shoes, sore muscles, inclement weather, bitter cold, lots of sleeping, running, eating and over $2500 later, we crossed the finish line of our very first marathon as Team Damian. We had so much fun this past January that we signed up again as soon as we could, this time opting for The Goofy Challenge.

The 2013 version of Team Damian has grown a bit as we’ve roped in more friends and family to accompany us to Disney. Team Damian will span the entire RunDisney weekend, the 5k, the half marathon and the full marathon. Hopefully Damian himself will even get to participate in the Kid’s Mickey 100 meter race.

To say I’m excited about this is a severe understatement. Sure, it’s going to be hard. Sure, there are days when doubt and fear bubble up. Sure, I am completely nuts for attempting 39.3 miles in a single weekend. I have a long few months ahead of me with Goofy training, but I know that doing it for one tough ~~not so~~ little baby, having the support of my friends and family, and going to Disney World makes it 100% worth it.

The donation website is now up for SLOS/RSH Foundation, and there’s even a handy widget on my sidebar. Please consider donating anything you are able to this wonderful organization that works tirelessly to find a cure and help families that are affected by this rare syndrome.

While money is obviously very much appreciated, don’t underestimate the power of prayers, kind words, encouragement, and support. Our goal is to get the word out about SLOS, raise a bit of money, celebrate our health and ability to move our bodies for good, have a ton of fun with friends and family, and to not go broke or murder our knees in the process.

I’d say we’re well on our way.