Livestrong Challenge Eve Part 2 of 2
August 23, 2009
The evning began with cocktails on the main floor and slowly progressed to the full fledged dinner, which was smorgasbord of pastas, and salads. This is what the dinner floor looked like, prior to dinner:
Drew from Blame Drew’s Cancer opened the evening as he formally, welcomed the crowd to Turbine Hall and introduced John “College” Korioth, who is one Lance’s friends, but also one of the triumverant of individuals responsible for the construction of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. “College” spoke “comfortably” about the construction of the Lance Armstrong Foundation. I say comfortably, because you could tell that his arena for public speaking is probably better suited for a one to one situation or a small crowd, not necessarily a formal event. He kept trying to temper his vocab to make it more gentile for public consumption, but at the same time, I think I preferred the straight talk. He spoke to us about the amazing programs that the foundation has created through the funds that we provide. These programs include the survivorship hotline. This hotline allows cancer patients the opportunity to talk to specialists in finding doctors, working through insurance and even aiding you with your financial issues. It also, helps survivors work on reacclamating themselves to society. After speaking about the wonderful things that the foundation has done, “College” introduced the man of the night, and I’m not speaking of Ethan Zohn, who was the keynote speaker. I’m speaking of Elden Nelson a.k.a. Fat Cyclist.
Fatty was introduced to a standing ovation and his address to the crowd was touching, moving, and abosultely inspirational. Here was a man who is/was a renowned cycling blogger, but recently he has added a series of titles to his name: patient advocate, caregiver, and widower. He has fought side by side with his wife, Susan, as she battled her way through metastized breast cancer. Unfortunately, for them both, she lost her battle with cancer three weeks ago and now Elden is continuing the fight, in a style that is entirely Susan’s. Team Fatty entered the Livestrong Challenge at all four locations and raised over $650,000. He and his team swept the awards here in Philly for fundraising. Philadelphia, alone was able to put together a team of 197 riders, of which, Elden hadn’t met any of them, until last night!
As for Elden’s speech: Elden spoke with the usual eloquence and sincerity of his blog and one could tell that he was fighting the emotion that clearly overwhelmed him at times. His message was to continue our fight against cancer with the zeal and drive that brought us to this point, much like Susan’s personal battle. However, he also, stressed that we should be open about the impacts of cancer in our lives and the impacts on those around us. I had the opportunity to speak with Elden afterwards and his sense of humility and grace were clearly evident. This is a special individual and I look forward to the great things that he will accomplish.
Livestrong Challenge Eve Part 1 of 2
August 22, 2009
Today, we made the trip over to Montgomery County Community College in nearby Blue Bell, PA to visit the Livestrong Village and collect the racing bibs, and collectable shirts for our team. The village was absolutely hopping with activity, as the Livestrong Challenge Philadelphia is completely filled! There will be over 6,000 participants! I am floored by the number of people who are going to arrive for this race. And that doesn’t even include people who are coming just to support those that are participating!
In attendance, at the Livestrong Village today, were Eddie George (former Heisman Trophy winner) and Chris Carmichael (Lance’s personal trainer). Unfortunately, they happened to leave just as we were exiting the registration tent! Boo… Therefore, my mission is still incomplete. Mission 1.) Grab a picture with Eddie George. Mission 2.) Run the Livestrong Challenge Mission 3.) See if I can snag a photo of Fat Cyclist and/or Drew from Blame Drew’s Cancer.
I might be able to accomplish this last feat at the Livestrong Challenge dinner tonight at Turbine Hall, in Chester, PA. I’m looking forward to this swanky affair of dining, socializing, and of course discussing the prevention of cancer. Keynote speakers tonight will be Ethan Zohn of Survivor Fame, Drew of Blame Drew’s Cancer, Lance’s bud, “College,” Elden (Fatcyclist) and the musical stylings of Amos Lee. Therefore, this should be a personal discussion of the impact of cancer and what we can do to stop it. After dinner, we will return to sort shirts, and bags for everyone and then for me (blog and post pictures) then to bed! Cause tomorrow will be an early morning!!!! More to come on this post!