As most of you know my good friend Jon Blais, aka THE BLAZEMAN, was stricken with ALS in 2005. He is the only ALS Patient to compete in an IM, completing Hawaii last year in 16:28. He was featured on the NBC telecast and recently was named the “Competitor of the Year” - he will receive his award on February 3rd in San Diego at the 2006 Competitor Awards. You can check out the link here: http://www.endurancesportsawards.com/index.php
I am in the process of setting up The Blazeman Foundation to help find a cure for this terrible disease. The Foundation’s goal is to collect donations that will go to research and to help ALS Patients that need financial assistance.
If you don’t know what ALS is, I ask that you take 30 seconds and educate yourself - there is no cure and no progress has been made since it was discovered in 1869! Since that time, 20 million people have been diagnosed with ALS. ZERO have survived. That is over 17 people per hour that DIE from ALS.
You can check out the War on ALS site here: www.waronals.com - In the coming weeks I will have the site set up to take donations to help fight this disease. I thank you in advance for your support. I hope that science can find a cure for this disease in my lifetime.
Mike… i’m happy to support Jon and help you with your cause. We’ve all heard remarks about the sport of Triathlon being “selfish and totally about oneself”, but i’ve found alot of caring and giving athletes (like yourself) when i’ve reached out for support. Lets assure Jon that his legacy will be about the difference that he made in the lives of others.
The entire Rutgers University Cycling Team is plannign on doing the 16.5 hour spin session to raise cash in Feb. We are still in the works at getting permits for the very public/outside area where it will go down. We will also be asking all the Other ECCC (Eastern Colligate Cycling Conference) Teams to join us…
I’ll let you know more when i have the info… expect some final/solid plans posted in January… all the best. Let see what a few college kids can raise for a great cause.
-Blake Bedoya - Rutgers University Cycling President.
Mike,
I’ve already been in contact through the website but please put the “word on the street” that I will be hosting a Spin-a-thon here in St. Louis MO as well! I am aiming for the huge lobby at the local Y…details to follow…
All you STers in St. Louis------mark you calendars!!
I’m going to try to organize a spin-a-thon at the New Canaan YMCA in Connecticut. Of course, i have to talk to them about it first. If it doesn’t work there, I have other sites in mind…so don’t post it up there yet.
NYers and CTers…join me on Team Blazeman’s NY chapter!
When I was at a local health system here in Albany we set up the ALS Regional Center which provides support services to ALS patients and their caregivers. The program has grown over the years and the program’s only revenue is from donations from locally sponsored sporting and fund raising events. The disease is truly a devastating illness and I applaud you on your efforts on behalf of the Blazeman. I watched last year’s Hawaii broadcast with amazement as the Blazeman attained his goal despite the ravages of that disease.
It’s great to see folks planning on the spin-a-thon. It’s the second annual, and I’m sure we’ll beat last year… both in terms of participation and fundraising. Have fun with it! Check the website for updates: http://home.comcast.net/~banjodoggy/spinforals.html