Help Melanie raise money

I run this race for Rich Sinnott, my dad, who worked as a lawyer up until Alzheimer's took away his ability to practice law. When Rich wasn't working as a lawyer, his part-time job was telling very detailed stories with hilarious punch lines - punch lines that inevitably would be delayed by his laughter right before delivering the big joke (Did you ever hear his story about "Funny Girl" and the ferry?!). Rich was a smart man with a great mind. His memory and his memories mattered to me and so many others - and they always will. 

Speaking of memories of Rich....this spring, Mike and I started coaching our daughter Emerson in softball. A friend remarked, "This seems full circle, you coaching your daughter in softball, after all those years of your Dad coaching us." And after half a season, most of which has been rained out, I truly believe that my Dad must have been a little bit insane for a long time to have coached SO MANY YEARS of youth sports.  He coached me and my siblings, Mike, Steph, & Greg, in basketball, baseball, and softball - not to mention attending piano & dance recitals, plays, musicals, track & cross country meets, tennis matches, mock trial, one season of freshman football, crew regattas, and so much more. And I know if he could, he'd be the most committed grandfather that has ever lived. He'd be at his granddaughter Annie's final recital this June, beaming at her high school graduation the following week, cheering for his grandson Brooks at his baseball games, yelling, "Great hustle!" to his grandson Sam during soccer, & giving his granddaughter Alice a standing ovation after her theatre performances.  He'd tell my daughter Emmy she was the next Francisco Lindor, stoking her love of the NY Mets & softball - and he'd watch my daughter Nora and his granddaughter Addie play together, proud as a peacock & smile, telling us all "I'm just soaking it all in, like Papa used to say", and he would most certainly be his grandson William Richard's biggest fan, elated that he has started to crawl. And he'd do it all beside his best friend & wife of (almost) 53 years, my Mom, and frontline Alzheimer's warrior, Jan.  

Until we have a cure for Alzheimer's, no miles run or dollars raised will be enough. If you are a repeat donor, thank you for your continued support - the past two years we have raised over $24,000 and we literally could not have done it without you (or corporate matches - don't forget to submit your donation to your employer for matching purposes)!  And if you're a new donor, welcome to one of the best efforts to combat one of (if not THE) the worst diseases.  Each of our first two years of running new medications were approved to fight Alzheimer's, and this year, a blood test to help better diagnose the disease was approved - we're hoping that sooner than later a cure is found (so are our joints!!).

As research funding is called into question on a national level, we believe it is more important than ever to raise funds for the Alzheimer's Association - the first survivor is out there, will you help fund the research to save them?