Three More Days of Training!

Hello all -

***We just relaunched our Run for Mercy website on Friday (it is going to be even better than before!), and we are aware that there are a few glitches. We are working quickly to correct them. When someone goes to the page for the Country Music Marathon/RFM, they can find YOUR personal fundraising page by clicking next to “Want to Donate” in the middle and then searching for you by first and last name. We are aware that if you are using Internet Explorer, the pages will not load, so you’ll need to use Safari, Firefox, etc. until we have this corrected. Also – I know that some people have made donations that have not shown on your personal page. If you know of anyone that has given, but it is not showing on your page, please let me know! I can get it corrected on my end. Please double check your pages to see if there are any donations missing.

We’ve raised a little over $25,000 so far. Let’s keep working hard this week to reach our goal of $40,000!!!!!

TEAM DINNER

We will have our team dinner here at the Nashville home on Friday, April 29th at 6pm. If you need the address for the home, please let me know.

We’ll have a healthy pre-race meal for you (and your guests) and will celebrate our training and fundraising together. If you’d like to earn a prize, you’ll need to have any money you’ve raised turned in to us that night or before. We’ll take a team photo, announce top fundraisers and prize earners, and will wrap up early enough that everyone can head home to get some sleep for the big day. (Please note: since you have until Friday night to turn in money to earn a prize, we won’t be able to determine if you’ve won one until then… you will receive the actual prize at a later date.) We will also talk at the dinner on Friday about what to expect on Saturday morning.

SHIRTS

Our shirts are here! If you joined the team and provided me with a shirt size by March 1, I have a shirt for you. Once you have raised the $100 fundraising requirement, you may have your shirt. Feel free to come by the office to pick it up (I suggest giving me a call/email before you come). Otherwise, I will have the shirts at the team dinner on April 29th. I also have a few generic Run for Mercy shirts for anyone who may not have given me a shirt size for the lululemon shirts. If you won’t be able to come to the dinner or pick up your shirt at our office this week, please let me know and we’ll make arrangements.

TRAINING and FUNDRAISING

You shouldn’t run too much this week. Follow your training plan and log just a few short, easy miles. REST. Drink lots of water. AND GET EXCITED!!!

Please keep asking everyone you know to make a donation in this final week! If you have any cash or checks that you’ve collected, you may bring those with you to the dinner. Of course, you can continue to send in money after Friday, but only money turned in by Friday can make you eligible for a prize.

If you have any questions about anything this week, do not hesitate to be in touch with me. You can call me at 615-831-6987 or email me at mblair@mercyministries.com.

Finally – we will have a tent at the finish line in the Charity Village. Please stop by after you finish the race so that we can see one another and take photos with our medals.

See you all soon!

10 More Days Until the Country Music Marathon!

Hello team,

As of today, we’ve raised $21,266.00! We are definitely picking up steam toward our goal of $40,000 – let’s all work together over these last two weeks before the race to raise even more funds to aid the girls that we serve here at Mercy!

TEAM DINNER RSVP NEEDED THIS WEEK

We will have our team dinner here at the Nashville home on Friday, April 29th at 6pm. Please RSVP by April 20th as to whether or not you will attend the dinner and if you’ll bring any guests, so that we can begin making preparations for the food. Thanks!

We’ll have a healthy pre-race meal for you (and your guests) and will celebrate our training and fundraising together. If you’d like to earn a prize, you’ll need to have any money you’ve raised turned in to us that night or before. Don’t forget – you do need to raise the minimum of $100 before that night to be eligible to attend or receive your shirt. We’ll take a team photo, announce top fundraisers and prize earners, and we will wrap up early enough that everyone can head home to get some sleep for the big day.

SHIRTS

Our shirts are here! If you joined the team and provided me with a shirt size by March 1, I have a shirt for you. Once you have raised the $100 fundraising requirement, you may have your shirt. Feel free to come by the office to pick it up (I suggest giving me a call/email before you come) if you’d like to start training in it. Otherwise, I will have the shirts at the team dinner on April 29th. I also have a few generic Run for Mercy shirts for anyone who may not have given me a shirt size to order you one of the lululemon shirts.

TRAINING/RACE DAY

You should have done your last long run/walk, and are now starting to taper for race day. If you start to feel like you’re not doing enough, DON’T WORRY! You are absolutely supposed to do less in the last two weeks in order to allow your body to recover from your training and rest up for race day. You are well-trained and ready for the race, but it’s important to show up at the start line feeling fresh. Try to get as much sleep as possible in these last two weeks; it’s likely you won’t sleep well the night before the race due to anticipation, but as long as you’re resting enough in these final weeks you’ll be fine.

I hope you’re all getting excited about participating in one of the largest distance road races in the country. We’re going to have a fantastic time out there on the course.

If you have any specific questions about race day, please don’t hesitate to email me at mblair@mercyministries.com. We will also go over some race day info at the team dinner!

Keep asking everyone you know to consider making a donation in these final weeks as your get ready to RUN FOR MERCY!

Race Day Less Than Three Weeks Away!

Hello team -

Get excited! Race day is less than 3 weeks away! As of today, we’ve raised $16,916.00! This is totally awesome, and I know that if we all keep it up we’ll be able to raise thousands more over these last few weeks.

SHIRTS

Our shirts are here! If you joined the team and provided me with a shirt size before March 1, I have a shirt for you. Once you have raised the $100 fundraising requirement, you may have your shirt. Feel free to come by the office to pick it up (I suggest giving me a call/email before you come) if you’d like to start training in it. Otherwise, I will have the shirts at the team dinner on April 29. I also have a few generic Run for Mercy shirts available.

TEAM DINNER RSVP NEEDED BY APRIL 20th

We will have our team dinner here at the Nashville home on Friday, April 29th at 6pm. Please RSVP by April 20th as to whether or not you will attend the dinner and if you’ll bring any guests, so that we can begin making preparations for the food.

We’ll have a healthy pre-race meal for you (and your guests) and will celebrate our training and fundraising together. If you’d like to earn a prize, you’ll need to have any money you’ve raised turned into us that night or before. Don’t forget – you do need to raise the minimum of $100 before that night to be eligible to attend or receive your shirt. We’ll take a team photo, announce top fundraisers and prize earners and will wrap up early enough that everyone can head home to get some sleep for the big day.

EXPO/RACE DAY TIPS

Start making plans for the race expo and race day now. If you are local, I recommend visiting the expo on Thursday to avoid the crowds of people from out of town who will visit on Friday. You’ll need a photo ID and your signed confirmation sheet (they haven’t sent these out yet, but you should receive it by email) to pick up your race number and timing device. They’ll also provide you with a packet of more information than you could possibly need, most of which is already on the website at www.cmmarathon.com. Their website is definitely a great resource to help you make your plans for parking, getting to the start line, etc.

Allow yourself a little time to enjoy the expo. There will be tons of booths with free samples, drawings for awesome prizes, and cool gear that you can consider purchasing (many offer great expo discounts!). It’s really fun to wander around and check everything out – go with a friend if you can to make it even more fun!

On race day morning, make sure you allow yourself ample time to deal with traffic and the crowds. I usually bribe a friend with Starbucks to drop me off at the start and pick me up at the finish so that I don’t have to drive and park. If you do need to drive, the best idea is to go EARLY, park at LP Field, and ride the free shuttles to the start line.

There will be over 35,000 people running in this event. It’s going to be a total blast, but definitely prepare yourself to be in a crowd as you get into your corral at the start line.

If you have any specific questions about race day, please don’t hesitate to let me know. We will also go over some race day info at the team dinner!

Keep asking everyone you know to consider making a donation in these final weeks as you get ready to RUN FOR MERCY!

26 More Days Until The Country Music Marathon!

Hello team!

I hope that you are all doing well and getting excited that the race is only 26 days away! As of today, we’ve raised $11,671 toward our team goal of $40,000. Let’s all do what we can over these last few weeks to see if we can reach our goal!

RSVP for the TEAM DINNER

We will have our team dinner here at the Nashville home on Friday, April 29th at 6pm. We’ll have a healthy pre-race meal for you (and your guests) and will celebrate our training and fundraising together. If you’d like to earn a prize, you’ll need to have any money you’ve raised turned into us that night or sooner. Don’t forget – you do need to raise the minimum of $100 before that night to be eligible to attend or receive your shirt. We’ll take a team photo, announce top fundraisers and prize earners, and will wrap up soon enough that everyone can head home to get some sleep for the big day.

Please RSVP by April 20th as to whether or not you will attend the dinner as well as if you’ll bring any guests so that we can begin making preparations for the food. Thanks!

TRAINING/RACE DAY PREPARATIONS

It’s likely that you’re all start to feeling a little tired and worn out from the training. Don’t worry – this is normal!  You should all be doing your last long run over the next week or two, and then you’ll cut back on the mileage for the remainder of the 2-3 weeks leading up to the race. This will allow your body time to recover while still staying fit so that you’re rested and ready to toe the start line on April 30.

Start paying attention to the race website – www.cmmarathon.com – for pertinent information about the race expo and race day. You will have to attend the race expo to pick up your number, goody bag, shirt, timing chip, etc. As you begin to think about race day, please feel free to let me know if you have any questions about how to prepare. This will be my fifth time to run the Country Music, so I’m happy to help give advice on anything from what to look for at the expo to where to park race day morning.

FUNDRAISING

I’ve often found that fundraising is sometimes easier in the last few weeks leading up to the event. It’s easier to get excited about the event because it’s only a few weeks away. Your excitement about running for Mercy can be contagious! Be sure to let everyone you come in contact with know that you’re training and fundraising. Don’t be afraid to ask people to consider making a donation. It doesn’t matter if it’s $5 or $500 or $5,000 – every dollar helps to change the lives of the young ladies we serve at Mercy.

Please let me know if you have any questions or if I can further assist you in any way! My email is mblair@mercyministries.com.  Keep up the good work with both your training and fundraising. April 30th is going to be such an exciting day for us all!