I am planning to run the upcoming NYC Marathon in honor of children and adults alike that struggle on their journey to good health. With the support of "Team for Kids" in NY - I am out to raise a minimum of $2,500 for charity! $2,500 is the minimum I need to be eligible to run and contribute to the on-going fight against childhood obesity through “Team for Kids”.

Some of you may or may not know this about me but about 4 years ago I went through a year of serious stomach related problems that landed me in the hospital several times within a short period of time. Every meal became a luck of the draw, would I live through it or would I wind up as IV needle pin cushion? After several doctors, specialists, & tons of advice I concluded that most of my issues were related to my weight and my body’s ability or inability to digest certain foods (bad foods!). Being a number of pounds overweight sent my body into a whirlwind of problems and no one could figure out why. After several attempts to lose weight a pattern emerged that when I lost weight the problems would go away and when I gained weight the problems would surface again. Good health & good weight go hand in hand…it took me 30 years to figure it out!

It seems like I’ve always had my share of weight related challenges not eating enough or eating too much. Now the fear of being overweight and becoming obese and the fear of all the health problems related to obesity has scared me enough to improve my own life….I’m RUNNING TO PROLONG MY LIFE. I personally have been on a journey for the last 4 years to change my husband & myself to a healthier lifestyle. This is no easy task when you work all day & all you want to do is lay on the couch & cuddle up with the remote. It’s not easy when those fried foods taste soooo good & fast food take out is sooo easy to make. Yes, it’s hard! Slowly but surely we’ve made some pretty significant changes but there’s always room for improvement. Now we are on the road of changing our activity so I began running early last year & have felt better than I have in a very long time. I truly enjoy running & recently became an adult-onset athlete HA!

Obesity is a disease that affects young & old. If we can reach out to young people NOW so that they don't continue to be afflicted as adults, then we have helped this next generation become a healthier one.

I'm asking that you take a moment and think "is there something, anything I can do to support this cause?" The answer is simple: YES. By making a contribution on behalf of yourself to "Team for Kids", you will be directly contributing to their continual push to create NATIONWIDE PROGRAMS for SCHOOLS and educate and conduct physical outlets/programs for the kids who need it the most.