Ally's 5K Run

Help Ride to Walk (in Lincoln, CA) celebrate 25 years of providing therapy to children with disabilities. Kick it off with Ally's 5K Run on Saturday, June 19, 2010, at 8:00 am. All the proceeds will benefit the Ally Memorial Scholarship Fund to assist families with children with disabilities.

Check out Ride to Walk at www.ridetowalk.org for more information. You can also register on Active.com at the following link:

http://www.active.com/event_detail.cfm?event_id=1828095

If you can be there, then we would love if you could donate the Ally Memorial Scholarship Fund at the following website:

https://www.kintera.org/faf/donorReg/donorPledge.asp?ievent=334241&supId=278273184

Thank you for all the support and prayer.

Looking for 5000 people to donate $10

Hey everyone. Welcome to 2010. We are off and running for the new year. We just got back from Boulder, CO--the #1 city in America for sports and outdoor recreation. Over 750 miles of bike and running trails in a town of 90,000. Beautiful city and wonderful people of whom we came in contact. Check out Jen's post below.

2010 also marks the start of some pretty hefty goals for myself in terms of endurance: 2 full Ironman triathlons, 2 half ironman triathlons, a 50K run, several century bike rides and a slew of smaller triathlons. Whoa...I am tired just thinking about it. It is all in part of my dedication to our 4-year-old niece, Ally.

Allison Georgia Ellis (or Ally) had Cerebral Palsy. She participated in a program called Ride to Walk in Lincoln, CA. Ally passed away on the morning of December 7, 2009. She was 4 years old. Her and I were planning on competing in triathlons together, like Rick and Dick Hoyt. Ally celebrated life to its fullest and my brother-in-law and his wife want her legacy to live on.

My wife and I have created a memorial scholarship in her name for the Ride to Walk program to help needy families who have children with disabilities so they could continue to benefit from this program. Please help me raise money for this amazing program in memory of Ally. I’m looking for 5,000 people who have $10 to donate and think doing an Ironman triathlon is an inspirational way to raise funds and awareness. You can donate to the Ride To Walk program through this Janus Charity Challenge web page or contact me for info about off-line donations at jcmckenna@gmail.com. Please check out www.ridetowalk.org for more information about the program.

You can also follow me on Facebook. Here is my link:

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Coreys-Ironman-2010-Challenge/191055883935?ref=nf


We hope that you can spare $10 or more to help this amazing scholarship fund. It would mean so much to forward this link to all of your friends. We are excited that you will join me for an amazing 2010. If it was anything like 2009 in terms of endurance and racing, 2010 will be even better.

Boulder, Colorado

So, one day a few months back, Corey read in his Triathlete magazine, that Boulder, CO was rated the best city for triatheletes to live in. It has high altitude, good weather, and the community is EXTREMELY bike friendly. There are miles upon miles of bike trails and bike lanes. Of course, there are also miles upon miles of MOUNTAIN trail, too.

I said, "Hey! Let's make that our anniversary present: A trip to check out Boulder!" It took just about no convincing for Corey to book the flight and hotel room.

Neither of us had ever spent time in any part of CO before (stops for connecting flights in Denver do NOT count!), so this was a fun adventure! Things that we liked:

the clean air

bike and pedestrian paths for DAYS! They even try to route the paths, so that the cyclists and joggers don't have to cross any streets!

pretty yet not overwhelming blanket of snow

the people are soooooo nice and friendly!!!

low crime rate. 4 homicides last year --don't we get that in one week??

variety of specialty shops, as well as all the "staple" shops, minus Walmart!!! :o) :o) :o)

the homeless there are less scary than in Bako

the cold was a "dry cold." In contrast to the valley, which has a damp penetrating cold, Boulder was 23 degrees on Friday, but I was barely chilled in just a sweatshirt!

reasonable cost of living. I can't think it's much higher than Bako, if at all higher

Panera bakery. My goodness, I loved that place! We had lunch there everyday :o) Although there are rumors that a Panera is coming to Bakersfield....

Walnut Brewery. Had two dinners there, and met a very hospitable waiter!

cooler guns, of course!

did I mention "no Walmart?" heehee :o)