Even with the surprising events of this past week -- Randy Couture leaving UFC and Fedor Emelianenko signing with M-1 Mix Fight -- I'm pausing this weekend to do something for myself and for others who are less fortunate.

Saturday is the Baltimore Running Festival and I will be participating in the event as a member of a four-person marathon relay team.  I'll be running the last leg (7.3 miles) of the relay and I've been training for this for the better part of the last two months.  I'm excited because, for those of you who have never participated in an organized race, Saturday will be equal parts running and equal parts festival.  According to the Festival's web site, there will be close to 15,000 runners between the full-marathon, half-marathon, marathon relay, 5K and kids' run. 

The race itself is exciting and it's the culimination of a lot of hard work, but quite frankly I feel like I've already finished a more important race.  That's because I'm running on Saturday under the banner of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society's Team in Training program.  As a member of this program, I was tasked with raising $1,500 -- an amount that will go towards the research and hopeful eventual discovery of cures for blood diseases.  When I reached my fundraising goal two weeks ago, the jubilation I felt was one that I can only hope is matched on Saturday when I cross the physical finish line.

I've come to realize through this program how much I truly have to be thankful for and how good it feels to give, especially to those who aren't afforded the luxury of worrying about quality of life issues (like, for example, will we ever see Fedor fight Randy?) but are instead struggling every day just to survive.  Efforts like those of the Leukemia and Lymphoma society and so many other charities do so much to put everyday trials and tribulations in perspective.  Seeing beyond my own rather trivial day-to-day struggles is something I now strive to achieve on a more consistent basis.  And, I'm beginning to learn that one way to look beyond myself is through the simple but enormously helpful act of giving.

So, on Saturday when I cross the finish line, I will be satisfied (for the time-being) in knowing that I did my part in helping those who can't help themselves. I will be bouyed by the tremendous outpouring of support from my family, friends, and colleagues, who all donated so generously to my fundraiser.  And, I will be humbled by the thought that I was fortunate enough to have had the opportunity to participate in such a running festival.  

Rest assured, however, that an even larger slice of humble pie will undoubtedly be served by my wife, Sarah, who will have completed 13.1 miles in running the half-marathon -- she is, after all, the true long-distance runner in this relationship.