April 30th - $11,285 = $186,803 of food !!!

April 13th - 120 miles and 14th place out of 40 starters (6 women, 34 men).  I have mixed emotions - disappointed I didn't cover all 150 miles, but happy I managed 120 in difficult situations and beat a lot of more experienced ultra-marathoners, and set a new race mileage PR.

Click here for full results.  My results:

14   Tom Jennings  525  M/49   12  48:14:01.43   24:07/M  120.000 
             Lap   1   2:32:12.62    15:13/M   10.000
             Lap   2   2:44:42.09    16:28/M   20.000
             Lap   3   2:40:59.54    16:06/M   30.000
             Lap   4   3:02:15.76    18:14/M   40.000
             Lap   5   3:16:59.74    19:42/M   50.000
             Lap   6   3:58:48.94    23:53/M   60.000
             Lap   7   3:21:42.78    20:10/M   70.000
             Lap   8   3:18:27.95    19:51/M   80.000
             Lap   9   4:35:34.90    27:33/M   90.000
             Lap  10   4:27:42.74    26:46/M  100.000
             Lap  11   5:03:02.31    30:18/M  110.000
             Lap  12   9:11:32.06    55:09/M  120.000

April 8th:  $10,935 = $181,072 (retail value) of food !!  THANK YOU !!!!

Note - track my progress during the race this weekend via live webcast updates and electronic chip timing!   

        http://www.runrace.net/findarace.php?id=08102IL&tab=a5

Thank you for your awesome support !!!!

==============

Hi, my name is Tom Jennings and I live in Erie, PA.  I am running a 150 mile trail race (called a trail ultra-marathon) on April 11th - 13th in the Peoria IL suburb of Pekin as a fundraiser for Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA. The race is called the McNaughton Park 150 Mile Trail Race. It involves doing 15 laps on a 10 mile trail.

This will be my last ultra-marathon fundraiser since the novelty of these ultra-marathons will have worn off and I don't like to be a nuisance.  So that is why I decided to name this year's event - "The Last Hurrah - 150 miles for $150,000 in food!"  I hope to raise $9,000 which would enable the food bank to distribute $150,000 (retail) of food.

DONATE NOW BEFORE THE RACE and help drive my training to beyond what I did last year for the 100 mile trail race.  Your early contributions last year really kept me motivated and training when my body was tired and I didn't know if I could get in sufficient shape to tackle 100 miles.  I WILL NEED EVEN MORE HELP THIS YEAR FOR THE 150 MILER!   Also, I printed and laminated the list of sponsors for the actual 100 mile race - it kept me going when I was ready to drop - I plan on doing the same again this year. 

So I'm hoping you will support my effort by contributing just 17 cents per mile ( $25 ) for my fundraising efforts for Erie's food bank:

     Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA   

The Second Harvest Food Bank is a 501c(3) non-profit organization. Donations to the Food Bank are eligible to be tax deductible. (A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the PA Dept. of State by calling toll free within PA 1-800-732-0999. Registration does not imply endorsement.). 

Now that we have the legal mumbo-jumbo out of the way, what's really important to know is that each

$ 1 donated = $ 17 (retail) of food the Food Bank can distribute for the needy !

So if you donated just $25 you would enable the Food Bank to distribute $ 425 (retail ) of food!  But please feel free to donate whatever amount you like - every little bit helps a hungry family.

GE employees / retirees - DOUBLE your $25 (or more) donation!  Click on the "this gift will be matched" checkbox and enter GE in the company name if you are donating at least $25.  Then click here and submit your donation to GE Foundation's Matching Gifts program!  Enter Second Harvest in the keyword search field and PA in the state field - two results are displayed - click the SELECT link for the top one. If you let me know you did the gift matching, I'll update the 'offline' total below and pass the amount along to Second Harvest so they know to expect it from GE Foundation due to this fundraiser. 

You could donate through the food bank's "Network For Good" website but it would not get rolled up to my fundraiser.  So please, dig deep and donate to this great cause. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure.  It is also the most efficient way to donate - by DEBIT CARD or CREDIT CARD - very convenient!  :-)

For those who aren't comfortable donating online, please make your check payable to Second Harvest Food Bank of NW PA and mail it to the following address (be sure to include your email address if you would like to receive my training newsletter):

     Tom Jennings

     P.O. Box 8932

     Erie, PA  16505

I will give the checks to the food bank and update the offline amount below so you can see your check contributions grow along with the online donations.

Since this is my last ultra-marathon fundraiser, please make my "last hurrah" a good one!  THANK YOU!

-- Tom --

-------------------------

Bio

Age: 49

Married for 27+ years, two wonderful daughters, ages 19 and 25

Home turf:  Asbury Woods, Erie PA and Oil Creek State Park, Titusville, PA

Founder of Run100forCharity.info - "ordinary people going to the extreme for charity"

Started running in July 2004 to lose weight and increase fitness for chronic lower back problems - lost 30 pounds in 8 months.  When I first began running I would run 100 to 200 yards and then walk.  Run / walk / run / walk.

Hobbies:   watching movies, home theater, myspace, bicycling, listening to music, spending time with friends and family, watching football (high school, college, pro)

5K PR - 21:42 = 7:00 / mile - 4/29/2006

10K PR - 47:45 = 7:42 / mile - 11/23/2006

Half marathon PR - 1:46:06 = 8:06 / mile - 4/2/2006

50K trail PR - 6:11:20 = 11:59 / mile - 9/9/2006

50 mile trail PR - 10:38:24 = 12:46 / mile - 3/10/2007

100 mile trail PR - 28:38:07 = 17:10 / mile  - 6/16 - 6/17/2007  Mohican 100

150 mile trail PR - ????  4/11 - 4/13/2008  (hopefully !!!)

-------------------------

FAQ's

1) What is an ultra-marathon?  Any race longer than a marathon (26.2 miles) - typically 50K (31 miles), 50 miles, 100K (62 miles), 100 miles... or longer!  Unlike shorter races like 5K's, 10K's, and even marathons, ultras are less about what time and place you finish the race and more about just FINISHING.  38 runners started the McNaughton Park 150 last year, but only 10 (26%) completed the full 150 miles.

2) What is different about a TRAIL ultra?  Trail ultras typically are up and down hills and through streams.  Sometimes the stream IS the trail!  Some hills are extreme - 60 to 75 degrees.  Unlike road racing, you need to pay attention to nearly every single footfall so you don't injure yourself on a rock or root.  Some luck is definitely involved.

3) What makes a trail ultra difficult?   1) Sheer fatigue from the pounding the legs take going up and down hills.  2) Foot problems, especially from running through streams... you've seen how white and wrinkly your feet get after being in water for a long time?   The technical term is your foot has become 'macerated' which makes the skin much more susceptible to blisters and tearing... so keeping dry socks & shoes on your feet is key in trail ultra racing. 3) The rocks and roots that seem to jump out of nowhere to roll your ankle, smash your toe, or make you fall at the instant you take your attention off of the trail !  4) Weather - heat, humidity, flooding, mud, etc. can make it very difficult to navigate the trails.

4) Where I can find out more about the McNaughton Park 150 Mile Trail Run?   Here !! 

5) What is Run100forCharity.info ?     While investigating how to create a my personal fundraising site for the Erie Food Bank last year, I discovered there was no way to 'get the word out' via a simple to remember website.  So I created my own site.  Run100forCharity.info will list ordinary folks like myself that are doing extreme events for charity.  For example, David Houston is honoring his father by running 50 miles for I.P.F. - Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis - a lung disorder which has stricken his father.  Scott Giddings is going to run across NEBRASKA (!) to raise funds for his Girls and Boys Town cause. 

6) How did you come up with the fundraiser idea to go along with the 150 mile run?   My niece Jennifer came up with the idea of linking my Mohican 100 trail race to a fundraiser last June - and thanks to YOUR wonderful support of my first 100 mile trail race, together we raised $6,700 for the food bank which equated to about $110,000 (retail) of food they were able to acquire and distribute.  So this year I thought 150 miles for $150,000 food sounded like a fair trade!  :-)