Do Your Best

Over the past several weeks, my father has said on several occasions, "You know, you don't need to win any medals, just finishing the race is a big accomplishment." For the most part, he's right - I'll get a finisher's medal regardless of how quickly I get from Hopkinton to Boston.

My father's advice is an obvious precursor to a saying I've heard many times over the course of my lifetime: "...just do your best (and regardless of the result, your mother and I will be very proud of you)" This mantra was certainly a guiding force in my upbringing, as was "we don't care what you do, we just want you to be happy."

I've thought a lot about these words over the past few years, as I've come to question what it actually means to do my best and what it means to be happy. In some ways, these tenets were instilled in many children of the baby-boomer generation and personally, I've found them to be both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, I've been given incredible opportunities to set high goals for myself, as well as tools with which I can achieve them. However, I've struggled with an understanding of how to choose worthwhile goals, and it's taken a long time to understand what "happiness" means.

That said, my parents also raised me in the same vein that their parents raised them. They both led by example, demonstrating that happiness comes from things other than money and power, and, especially given their chosen careers in education, that dedicating time and energy to helping others succeed is always worthwhile.

My grandparents were similar. In reading through my Dad's words about my grandfather again, I came across this:

"In 1994, the Clovis Unified School District honored Dave by naming the district office complex after him and the street that bisects the compound was named David E. Cook Way.  It meant a lot to Dave to be recognized, but he was not one to indulge himself with pride.  He never spoke of his accomplishments in the way many people do.  He was happy to let his record speak for itself."

So while I've struggled with the questions regarding what I want to do with my life and how I should spend my time, I've always worked very hard and, like my grandfather, appreciate recognition, but truly wish to be recognized for the work itself, not the reasons behind it.

With that in mind, a few updates since my last post:

• On St. Patrick's Day, I decided to run in the New Bedford Half Marathon, in which I set a new PR (Personal Record) of 01:32:54 (7:07 per mile pace).
• Last weekend, I ran 22 miles with the Dana-Farber team, the first half at an ~8:30/mile pace, the second half under 8:00/mile (including the hills in Newton). This is what's known as a "reverse split" - and definitely a first for me at such a long distance.
• Kristen and I are finishing up the last of our fundraising dessert packages this week.
• I've been extremely busy at the Broad Institute, though I finally feel as though I'm getting good traction on a project I've spent most of the past year on.
• At night, I've been taking MIT's Introduction to Biology course online, taught by Eric Lander, in order to improve my understanding of genetics and biochemistry, regardless of its relevance to my current job.

And most importantly, as of this weekend, I've exceeded my goal of $8000 raised for the Claudia Adams Barr Program at Dana-Farber!

I'm proud of the accomplishments I've made over the past few months, and hope to inspire others, whether it's running a 5K, breaking out of a comfort zone at work, or making a contribution to the fight against cancer or some other important cause.

In thinking about my accomplishments in the context of the lessons my parents tried so hard to teach me, I guess I'm finally beginning to sort out for myself that if all you ever do is wonder about whether or not a decision will make you happy or a goal is worth pursuing, you'll never do anything worthwhile and you'll never be happy. So get out there and do something, and look for meaning and satisfaction in the process as well as the result.

These past few months have been very busy and have required a lot of hard work, but have been very rewarding. It's amazing how quickly the time has gone by, and interesting to think that my shoes have barely dried out from running in the snow, and in two weeks from now it will all be over. Below is a set of pictures I took over the course of several runs of the Anderson Footbridge near Harvard throughout my training (chronologically ordered, starting with the geese and ending with sunlight reflecting on the Charles).

Everything's easier when you have others to help you along the way...

• I don't think I'd be as well-prepared for this race if it hadn't been for the other inspiring members of the DFMC team as well as all the volunteers that have stood out in the cold on Saturday mornings to give us gatorade and pretzels on our training runs.
• Work and school have been positive experiences lately because of the amazingly intelligent and hard-working people I work with and learn from.
• Kristen - thank you, so much :)
• I could not have reached my fundraising goal without the support of so many friends, family, and colleagues. A huge thanks to my friends Maia, Marc, my sister-in-law Kim and her husband Brian, who made very generous donations this past week in order to push me over the top! 

For all of this, I'm very appreciative.

At this point, I'm officially tapering (ramping down my mileage) and waiting patiently for race day. And Dad, just so we're clear, I'm going to break 03:30:00.  I'm sure you and Mom are worried about my well-being-- sorry, it's how you raised me.

Please support my run with the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team by making a donation.

Spring Bake Sale

Marathon Monday is a month away, which means I'm certainly starting to think about what it will feel like to make the right on Hereford, left on Boylston... If the memory of my first marathon is an indicator, I'm guessing I'll feel tired and not much else until after crossing the finish.

Preparing for this race has been quite a bit more difficult than training for Philly in 2011. These past few weeks, I've been tired, sick, super-busy at work, dealing with condo-related nonsense, stepping in and out of slushy snow-melt puddles, running up and down hills over and over again for 20 miles with the DFMC team two Saturdays ago, and squeezing out an 18-mile run this past Saturday morning after being out until 1am at a social engagement.

But, the snow has melted and will hopefully stay away (knock on wood). I went running in shorts for the first time of 2013 today-- the difference it makes is incredible. This weekend I'll be running the New Bedford Half Marathon, next weekend I'll do a 22-mile run, and after that, I'm tapering (which means I start scaling back my training and cutting out my longer long runs in order to let my muscles heal and strengthen up before the big day). Nearing the home stretch...

I'm also thrilled to have raised over $6200 for the Claudia Adams Barr Program, but my goal is $8000 so if you haven't made a donation yet but would like to contribute, you can do so here or send me a check made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

And what better way to kick-start a spring fundraising drive than to the finish than another sale of amazing treats?!  Below is the list of offerings, some of which were actually requested by those lucky enough to try a sample... That said, if you want something else entirely, please ask and we'll see what we can do to accommodate your request.

Item	Description	Donation
Candy Bar Package	A collection of candy bars! We're offering a box of homemade classics: Snickers Peanut Butter Cup Almond Joys Milky Way	$50.00
Spring Easter Basket	A delicious basket of treats including: Almond cranberry granola Buttermilk chocolate chip pancake mix Loaf of brioche with french toast recipe	$50.00

Pick-up dates: Anytime before the morning of Saturday, March 30th

Order deadline: Friday, March 22nd

To place an order: Send an email to jeffruns4dfmc@gmail.com with details about what you'd like to purchase and when you'll need it. Payment can be made upon pick-up, with a check made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

Finally, I wanted to share some more memories of my grandfather, which is something I said I'd do when I started this blog. Dave Cook had an amazing repertoire of quotes that I remember well, so I figured I'd share a few...

• "It's a jungle out there"
• "You can tell 'em, but you can't tell 'em much."
• "If you have to go, you might as well go first class"
• "Is the Pope Catholic?"  (very apropos, given today's news of white smoke from the Vatican)
• "Never send a boy to do a man's job"

He also used to place his hand on my head, and say "Heal!" My aunt Steph recently sent me this picture-- my grandfather holding me when I was a baby.

I loved him, I miss him.

My goal in running for DFMC is to make even the smallest difference in someone else's family by helping extend or save the life of a loved one.

Please make a donation: http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/jeffl

Ask and you shall receive

A few weeks ago, I went running along the Charles wearing a relatively new Saucony jacket, in which I placed my car key, only to find it missing from my pocket upon returning to my car. This killed me, because a few years ago I lost a different car key along a similar run. That time, I had stopped for a mid-run snack and forgot to zip up my pocket, so the key fell out. Since then, I've been very conscious of the state of my zippers at all times, so you can imagine my confusion when I saw that the pocket was in fact zipped, but the key was gone! Unfortunately, the pocket was attached to the jacket by iron-on hemming tape instead of an actual stitch, and a small bit of the tape had come undone, exposing a hole at the bottom of the pocket. $337 later, I had a new "smart key" provided by the Toyota dealership.

My new favorite company

Saturday, at the DFMC team training run, I was talking to a woman named Paula, who complimented me on my choice of jackets. It turned out that she was a rep from Saucony who had come to the meeting to demo running gear and provide support to the team. She gave me her business card and asked me to email her with the story of the lost key.  I wrote it up, and indicated that I didn't need any more gear, but they were more than welcome to aid my fundraising effort. The next morning, Saucony made a $337 donation. I was pretty excited about this - at best I had expected an apologetic response and a gift card, but this was a much more meaningful gesture.

I also had an awesome run on Saturday.  I had planned on 16 miles, and after the first 5-mile turnaround, I found myself running alongside a pack of girls who were actually running my pace. My new friend Amanda convinced me to stick out another 2 miles with her, which I did, finishing an 18-mile run with an average pace under 7:40/mile. Six weeks ago I was hardly running at all and still in PT for my hip-- so I was feeling pretty good with this run.

I'm very appreciative of my experiences this past weekend. The people at Saucony made me realize that many people are willing to give money towards this cause, so long as someone simply asks them. My run with Amanda reminded me that I'm a pretty good runner, and that all of this effort is not only relevant to the stories of my own friends and family, but to a lot of others as well.

Everyone I've met running with Dana-Farber, like Paula and Amanda, have had similar stories about the ways in which they've been impacted by cancer. Few have said "I wanted to run the Boston Marathon and DFMC was my ticket into the race." I heard from two different people on Saturday that they recently lost someone, almost suddenly, due to pancreatic cancer. I've spoken a lot about melanoma and prostate cancer, because of my high risk, but I knew nothing about cancer of the pancreas, so I figured I'd take a look at what the Claudia Adams Barr Program has been doing in this realm.

I found something pretty interesting: it's apparently been discovered that an anti-malarial drug called hydroxychloroquine is effective in shrinking or slowing the growth of pancreatic cancers:

Hydroxychloroquine is a drug that inhibits “autophagy,” a process that enables cells to break down and eliminate structures such as damaged cell membranes. Cancer cells use autophagy to outwit chemotherapy treatment: by activating this process they survive the stress of therapy. Alec Kimmelman, MD, PHD, with Barr Program support in 2009-‘10 discovered that autophagy is turned on all at all times in pancreatic cancer cells suggesting that pancreas tumors are highly dependent on autophagy and therefore good candidates for autophagy-inhibiting treatments. Testing with mice treated with the drug, the treatments were found to be very effective and Dr. Kimmelman plans to move to human trials soon.

I strongly believe in the mission and impact of the DFMC team. In my last post, I wrote about how much I enjoy running, and I am certainly excited about running the Boston Marathon-- but that's not why I'm running for DFMC. I'm part of this team because I wanted to do something to raise awareness, and money, for the fight against cancer.

With that being said, I've decided I won't be satisfied by hitting my goal of $6500, which I expect to surpass well before Marathon Monday. I've raised my fundraising goal to $8000 and with your help, I'll get there.

Please donate: http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/jeffl

Why I Run

Every member of the Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge team is encouraged to film a "Why I Run" video call. I won't be filming one-- writing this blog is already a bit of a stretch for me putting my feelings out on the internet. But, if you listen to what other members of the team have to say, you'll notice some similarities. My guess is that most people would pick one or more of the following reasons:

• I lost [someone] to [some kind of] cancer
• [someone] was treated at Dana-Farber and survived
• This is my way of making a difference in the fight against cancer
• I love running and it's my dream to run the Boston Marathon

I could certainly film a video in which I enumerate the reasons why I'm running with the DFMC team in the 2013 Boston Marathon, many of which would sound similar to those above. Instead, I thought I'd try to articulate a more general answer to the question "why do you run, Jeff?" Or, more specifically, "why the heck would you want to run 26.2 miles all at once, Jeff?" Many people have a hard time understanding why anyone would pursue such an endeavor, so I'll do my best to share my own personal reasons.

There are a few parts to my answer, and believe it or not, "because it's a good form of exercise" is most definitely not one of them (although its effects can't be ignored). This notion was introduced to me in high school when I learned, in physical education, that one of the requirements of a passing grade was to run a mile (yes, a single mile). In college, after my body stopped growing and my metabolism became inversely proportional to the amount of pizza I would eat after a long night of drinking beer on Friday night, I thought, "maybe I should run" (perhaps, two miles before exhaustion set in) in order "get fit."

Wrong answer.

After college, I got a bit of a taste of my enjoyment of the sport while running a few (~three?) miles up and down Santa Monica beach. Sometimes on my own, others with my roommates, but almost always with a gorgeous sunset on the horizon and waves crashing into sand a few hundred feet from me.

Over the following years, thanks to my move to the east coast as well as my job which required me to travel a fair amount, I had an opportunity to run in some interesting places:

• Central Park, NYC
• Fort Lauderdale Beach (in February- wish I was there now!)
• Amazingly well-maintained bike paths in a number of different fly-over states (even I remembered the names of the towns, you probably wouldn't know where they were)
• Martha's Vineyard
• Downtown Toronto
• A cold country road in Cumberland, Maine, with a warm home awaiting for me upon my return
• Along Lake Michigan in Chicago
• San Francisco: down California Street, Embarcadero, sunrise over the Bay Bridge from Telegraph Hill and then back up Lombard Street with the new friend who would later become my wife (if that isn't romance, I don't know what is).
• One of my favorites: down the mall, across the Potomac and back, in DC.

The list goes on, but the place where I've literally logged hundreds of miles over the past few years is where I truly discovered the answer: The Charles River, which, by the way, looks remarkably different since my last post after the ridiculous amount of snow we got over this past weekend.

A few years back, while working at Endeca, some co-workers of mine and I started running during our lunch breaks. We typically made a loop between the Longfellow and Mass Ave bridges (~2.8mi). At some point, my friend Jack and I decided to extend the loop to the Museum of Science (~3.8mi). And then we extended to the BU Bridge (~5.7mi)

Philadelphia Marathon, 2011

Jack and I also started running faster. In high school, the idea of an 8-minute mile was a dream. During 2010-2011, Jack and I were shaving 5s+ of our pace every week, and by the time I ran the Tavern-to-Tavern 5K in August of 2011, I set my 5K Personal Record of 19:43 (6:19 min/mile), placing 6th in my age group and 18th overall in a field of about 600.

I started entering races with friends, or by myself. I ran 3 half marathons over the course of a year, and then decided to run a full. I ran the Philadelphia Marathon with a time of 03:33:26, placing 1654/10312 finishers in November of 2011.

I run because it allows me to experience the world outside on a regular basis, to ignore the demands of normal life and open my eyes to the beautiful world we live in. I never run on a treadmill. I run because it provides a meaningful connection to other people that doesn't revolve around "dinner or drinks." I run because it offers me a challenge-- I know I can always get better, and yet, I've never been disappointed with a race time. But mostly I think I run because at this point it has become part of my identity-- no other hobby, interest or activity feels like "mine" in the same way.

And I'm running the Boston Marathon on April 15th, 2013, because I have an incredible opportunity to participate in the world's ultimate race and, in the process, raise money for a cause that is very important to me.

If you have yet to make a donation towards my run with the DFMC team and would like to, please donate online or mail me a check, made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge. I'm running in memory of my grandfather, who passed away from prostate cancer three years ago, and all proceeds go to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.

Winter's warming up

My last post was two weeks ago, and at the time I was doing my best to stay positive in light of the various issues I was dealing with, so let's start this off on the right foot with another update on how I'm doing:

1. I've surpassed my minimum fundraising requirement-- thank you to everyone who has made that possible!  However, I'm still $2400 below my goal of $6500 and even further away from the team's per-runner goal of $8400. Please click here to donate.
2. My hip/glute injury is close to 100% healed. I took a break from running and focused on strengthening the area with cross-training and PT, and feel like I've finally returned to my running form.
3. I'm over my cold. And no, Mom, I still haven't gotten a flu shot, nor do I plan to (sorry).
4. My face is skin cancer-free, after a 4-hour multi-attempt procedure that temporarily left me looking a bit like Frankenstein, but my stitches have since been removed and looks like in another week or so you won't even be able to see where they excised the tumor.

As for training, I've finally gotten back out there after my short hiatus...

Thursday morning weather report

The first question you might be asking yourself: "isn't it supposed to be freezing cold in Boston right now?" To put things in perspective, my phone's weather app reported a brisk -16 degree "feels like" temperature at 6:00am on Thursday when I stepped out for a morning run. I thought the better of it, and went at lunchtime instead, at which point it was a balmy 17 degrees, plus a windchill.

Your second question might be, "are you nuts?" You might think so if I were the only one out there, but every day I pass a number of others enjoying a run in this weather.  I saw one guy yesterday who was wearing shorts.  There's a saying that "there's no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing" (apparently he didn't get the message). If you suit up with the right layers, the cold is for the most part hardly noticeable. And it's better than being hot, for sure.

Plus, it's an opportunity for me to take a break out of the daily grind to recognize the beautiful place in which I live and have the opportunity to run. I took these pictures on my run yesterday around the Charles River:

I made a 10-mile loop, then realized that my car key fell through a hole in the pocket (of a relatively new jacket I was wearing) somewhere along the route. Thanks, Saucony. I had no choice but to run the additional 2 miles home... so, a 12-mile run was longer than I had planned, but I felt great. So, I guess I'm finally ready to ramp up my mileage a bit.

If you're still reading this and haven't been convinced to support my run, then I guess I'll have to attempt to bribe you with some quality goods that Kristen and I are offering just in time for Valentine's Day.

Everything below will be homemade, of course, from the chocolate fillings to the english muffins:

Item	Description	Donation
Assorted Chocolates	A collection of Valentine's Day chocolates	$50.00
Winter Warmer Breakfast Basket	A delicious basket of treats including: Pecan and cherry granola Hot chocolate mix with marshmallows Cinnamon coffee cake bread or 12 whole wheat english muffins	$50.00

Pick-up dates: Anytime before Thursday, February 14th

Order deadline: Wednesday, February 6th

To place an order: Send an email to jeffruns4dfmc@gmail.com with details about what you'd like to purchase and when you'll need it. Payment can be made upon pick-up, with a check made out to Dana-Farber Marathon Challenge.

A reminder that all proceeds from sales of these items, as well as any other contribution made towards my run with DFMC, go to to the Claudia Adams Barr Program in Innovative Basic Cancer Research at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, and will be considered by the IRS to be a tax-free donation for the 2013 tax year.

The Best is Yet To Come

I've always been a complainer. Ask pretty much anyone that knows me - I often tend to want things to be perfect, and when they aren't, I have a lot to say about it. My instinct is also to explain myself-- to rationalize every statement with probably more detail than people care to hear. Couple that with a related complaint and it's enough to drive anyone nuts who dares to listen to me.

So when I say that I've had a lot of complaints lately, it should come as no surprise to anyone. And while I am cognizant of the opportunity I have to share those complaints on this blog, and explain them away, I'll spare you. That said, I did decide to start this blog partially to keep friends and family updated on my progress in fundraising and training, so here's the latest:

1. As of yesterday, I've surpassed the halfway mark in my fundraising! Thank you to everyone who has donated thus far, and for those who haven't, you can do so here.
2. Hip/glute strain injury still in full effect. I'm on week #2 of PT and have decided to stop running until I'm asymptomatic.
3. I've come down with a cold.
4. On Monday, I'll not only be raising money for the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, but I'll also be a DFCI patient. Don't worry -- nothing too serious, just my first of what will likely be many skin cancer diagnoses in my lifetime (basal cell carcinoma), for which I'll be treated in a routine outpatient procedure at the Mohs Micrographic Surgery Center.

As you might imagine, while I've been very happy with my fundraising success, I've had a difficult time staying positive about everything else. This has made me think a lot about why I choose to focus on the not-so-great things when I have so many other reasons to be happy:

1. I'm married to a wonderful person who has not only helped me with all the fundraising-related baking over the past few weeks, but supports me and loves me everyday.
2. Despite the hip injury, my body's been in better shape over the past few years than most of my adult life, mostly due to running-- and I have faith that I'll still be able to run in April.
3. Let's face it, nobody likes a cold, but at least I don't have drug-resistant tuberculosis.
4. I live in a city that hosts some of the best medical centers in the country.

Maybe the better approach is to simply let go?  Recognize the good and bad things that life throws at you, but take them all at face value?  This seems to have been the approach my grandfather took in life (so much so, that the theme of my father's eulogy for him was "Dave took life at face value").  If you didn't know my grandfather, it might be hard for you to understand what this means, but I can do my best to convey it...

"War hero"

Dave enlisted in the Navy at age 17 and spent 32 months at sea until the war ended. As he was about to go on his first leave in over 2.5 years, a crewman dropped a shell casing on his foot, sending him to sickbay with a broken toe. A few years before his death, my grandfather gave me a bunch of pictures of him during those days, along with a letter that described his time just before and after the war. The letter never mentioned the broken toe story.  And he never, ever talked about the war itself.

Today, my mother told me that Dave had surgery to remove a melanoma not too long ago. It was such a non-event that I don't even remember it, and I don't think my grandfather ever talked about the melanoma he survived, or the prostate cancer he didn't.

While Dave was a sharp dresser in his work life, I remember him spending most of his time around the house in a white v-neck t-shirt and boxer shorts. Even if my grandmother or anyone else cared, I'm pretty sure he didn't, and he never felt the need to explain himself.

He also always had a joke to tell. They weren't always good, but he always made them funny.

I think part of my grandfather's optimism and ability to find humor in everyday life was rooted in simple faith, but mostly I think that it was just his personality, and what made him special. I declared that my DFMC journey this year was meant to be in memory of my grandfather, so over the next few weeks I'll be letting my memory of him inspire me to be more positive, by taking whatever happens at face value.

A week before Dave's death, his sister called him and began with "It's good to hear your voice. You've been through a lot." His unflinching response was, "The best is yet to come."

2012 Recovery, 2013 Rejuvenation

Who doesn't have a love-hate relationship with the holiday season? I mostly enjoy this time of year, but I always seem to be crawling across the finish line towards the end, barely able to drag myself out of bed for the last few weeks of December, and usually feel my body falling apart just before the New Year.

2012 has been no different. Let's start with the weekend of the Dec. 15th-16th. I started off Saturday with a 10-mile run with the DFMC team, where I met a number of really nice, inspiring people and enjoyed a beautiful morning running along the on the Minuteman Bikeway in Lexington. Kristen and I spent the rest of the weekend making:

• 152 glitter ball sandwiches (2 cookies each)
• 190 caramel turtles
• 114 peppermint shortbread bars
• 304 candied and chocolate-dipped orange peels

This fulfilled our first big order, following a very generous donation from our friends Sasha & Carrie, for 38 double-decker treat packages that were delivered to Kristen's colleagues at Oracle. The baking continued all the way through the next week, intermixed with our day jobs, Christmas shopping, Boot Camp, running, and preparing for my parents' visit.

Our holiday dessert packages were a huge success. Thanks to the many purchases by friends and family, we raised over $1400 towards my fundraising goal, which brings me pretty close to the $4000 minimum amount. There's still plenty of time to donate, and I'm really excited and motivated to meet and exceed my goal. And stay tuned for information about homemade chocolates we'll be selling for Valentine's Day.

Now, the baking's over. I'm nursing a hip injury likely sustained from over-use between ramping up my mileage and attending Boot Camp twice a week-- a bit nervous about it to be honest, but hopefully I can recover quickly and get back to training. I'm also catching up on sleep and enjoying some quality time with my family, and looking forward to a really fantastic year.

Also worth noting is that I have stitches and scars on my stomach, back, and face marking the conspicuous spots recently removed by my dermatologist.  I consider skin cancer to be an inevitability for me, based on my fair skin, lifetime sun exposure, and family history, but can only hope that if I am someday diagnosed with melanoma like my father was many years ago, I, like him, will have caught it early enough.  Hence the annual checkups-- which are pointless without the treatment options made available by the great work performed by organizations like Dana-Farber...

The Barr Program's research has led to the discovery of abnormalities in cancer growth proteins leading to the development of successful drugs including a 42% increase in survival for patients with advanced lung cancer, and a 63% improvement in survival for certain metastatic melanoma patients.

The Kinome Project, with initial Barr Program funding in 1997, discovered mutations in a family of genes called “kinases” that prevent cell growth stimulators from being turned off, resulting in cancer cells that replicate uncontrollably. These discoveries by William Sellers, MD and his colleagues led directly to the development of targeted drugs used by patients worldwide for the treatment of multiple cancers including lung cancer, leukemia and melanoma. Examples include Tarceva leading to a 42% improvement in lung cancer survival, and Vemurafenib, producing a 63% improvement in survival for metastatic melanoma when the mutations are present. This work has become the model for personalized medicine in cancer treatment and is widely credited for helping transform the approach that pharmaceutical companies use for drug development.

There's still a lot of work to be done. For now, I'm going to finish out the remaining days of 2012, thinking about this year's accomplishments and celebrations. But next week begins a new year, and regardless of how my hip is feeling or the results of my biopsies, I'll be out there pushing myself in my training and focusing on my $6500 goal and the 26.2 miles I'll run in April.

You still have a few days before the tax deadline, or you can wait and file your donation in your 2013 return-- or both!  Either way, I really appreciate your support!

http://www.rundfmc.org/2013/jeffl