On November 7 more than 35,000 runners will participate in the ING New York City Marathon. Two of those runners, David Gibson & Lauren Szczerba, will be running to raise money and awareness for Project Main St., a non-profit organization dedicated to caring for people living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The New York City Marathon is a major annual marathon (42.195 km (26.219 mi)) whose course runs through all five boroughs of New York City. It is one of the largest marathons and is among the pre-eminent long-distance annual running events in the world. 100% of the proceeds raised by this event to will be used to support individuals living with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease). The Participants David Gibson: “I am going to run a marathon for the first time ever on November 7th. Although I never really seriously thought I’d try a marathon, the idea of finishing has always been in the back of my head as I have always enjoyed running just to try to keep in shape. Since I am reasonably healthy, I have decided along the way to try to use this experience to help others who are not as lucky as I have been. Along those lines, I have decided to raise money by dedicating my 26.2 mile run to a charity called Project Main Street which is a charity started by my good friend Emmett Towey. Emmett started the charity after losing his best friend to Lou Gehrig’s disease (AKA ALS) at the young age of 36. I met his friend Tim a couple of times (unfortunately in the latter stages of the disease) and was impressed by how courageous he seemed. I was also stunned by how debilitating the disease actually is. ALS is a devastating disease for both the victims and the victims’ families. Unfortunately, many of the costs associated with caring for those who have ALS are not covered by insurance (such as wheel chairs and other special equipment). Project Main Street was founded in order to help the families and victims of ALS pay for some of these costs”. Lauren Szczerba: “For the past 15 weeks, I have been training for what will be my second New York Marathon. I haven’t always been a runner. I used to hate the one mile they made us run in elementary school, but by high school I was running the one and two mile for the track team. You’d think the leg injuries, whether it be shin splints, stress fractures or IT band syndrome, would slow me down, but what can I say? Running is my exercise and marathons are my goal. I have another goal this year, and that is to raise money for Project Main St., a non-profit organization that strives to improve the quality of life for individuals afflicted with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) and their families by lessening the financial burden associated with this dreadful disease. I was at the very first Project Main St. event in 2006, and I had the pleasure of meeting Tim Sheehy, the Founder, Architect & Inspiration for Project Main St., and I have been at subsequent events since that Hootie concert, but on Sunday, November 7 I am honored to run in Tim’s memory to help raise awareness of ALS. “…divide the race into thirds. Run the first part with your head, the middle part with your personality, and the last part with your heart.” – Mike Fanelli, running club coach For me, I’m running all 26.2 miles with my heart (and a few other muscles)”! Please Support Project Main St. David and Lauren know that “Until there is a cure for ALS there is Care” Please support their efforts to help those in need by donating to Project Main St.