In 2000 I raised over $4500 for APLA while training to run the Chicago Marathon. In all, the 2000 program raised over $3,400,000 for APLA. You can read all about it on my Marathon 2000 Page.

This year the training program started on June 9 with the goal of finishing all 26.2 miles of the Honolulu Marathon. I reached the minimum fundraising requirement of $3000 but I have set a personal goal of $5000 and you can help reach that goal by making a pledge. I did the hard part by running the marathon. You get to do the easy part by writing a check! Even though I've already run the marathon, it's never too late to donate.

My training group met every Saturday morning at 7:00 in Griffith Park. There were about 400 people in the group but we went out in pace groups of 10 based on ability. My group ran a 12-minute-mile training pace. The first run was on June 9th for 3 miles and one mile was added each week until we hit 10 miles. Then we went up 2 miles every other week with a "short" run in between, e.g. 12 miles, 6 miles, 14 miles, 7 miles, etc. The final training run, 3 weeks before Honolulu, was 26 miles long. In addition to the group runs I ran twice a week on my own for 4 to 5 miles. Confused? I have a calendar on my training page.

Founded in 1982, AIDS Project Los Angeles is the largest AIDS service organization in California and provides direct support services to more than 8,000 men, women and children living with HIV/AIDS in Los Angeles County. In addition, the agency provides HIV prevention and risk-reduction education to reduce the incidence of HIV infection and advocates for fair and effective HIV/AIDS-related legislation on the local, state and federal levels. While in the beginning APLA's client base consisted almost entirely of gay or bisexual men, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the number of Latino, African-American and female clients.

APLA is administered by a professional staff of over 175 and supported by a volunteer force of more than 2,000 volunteers. 70 cents of every dollar that AIDS Project Los Angeles raises goes directly to client services, HIV prevention and treatment education and advocacy on behalf of persons with HIV/AIDS. Only 5% is spent on administrative costs.

For a first-person account of what it's like to live with AIDS for over 18 years, please read "I Can't Begin to Tell You" by Bob Bowers, AKA One Tough Pirate. He was APLA's 87th client and one of two still alive out of the first 100. (There are two pages to the story so make sure you scroll down to the bottom for the link to the next page.)

Those of you who followed my training last year may remember the ups and downs I encountered. In June I suffered a stress fracture and was out for 6 weeks, only to be followed by a bout of iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS), which is a knee problem. Despite this I completed the training and the Chicago Marathon, the last 17 miles of which with knee pain. While I promised to keep running, I also promised not to participate in the AIDS Marathon program again. Don't get me wrong, the training program is great for running newbies and the cause is even better. But the impact on my social life (and my body) was hard. So I initially decided to take a year off from marathoning. "Not so fast," said the Running Bug that lives inside me. I finally figured out how to avoid ITBS so I could run without pain. I ran four 5Ks (3.1 miles), Culver City's Western Hemisphere Half Marathon (13.1 miles) and started training for the 2001 Los Angeles Marathon. I only made it to the halfway point of the LA Marathon because I had a cold, but I remembered the energy at the starting line, the enthusiasm of the people lining the route, and the sense of how great this city is. I figured I would want to participate in the AIDS training again this year, probably as a volunteer. If anything else, the marathon training is a social activity. You see the same people every Saturday and get to know them and I knew I would miss that if I was just standing on the sidelines handing out water. (Besides, water volunteering can be incredibly boring!) I talked it over with my partner Shaun and decided to participate again. Now that we know what to expect and have a better idea of how it will impact our social life it should be a lot more manageable this year.

*Amount shown includes matching funds and money I raised for other particpants through the sale of running caps.