Hello everyone, please let me introuduce myself. My name is Allen, TakeoRey in the SG forums. You may have heard about me on some of the SG podcasts or have seen me on the forums randomly. Mostly I’ve been associated with Extra Life and what we are doing here in and around the Houston area. A lot of people have asked me what led me into doing the things I do here for Extra Life. Let me share with you my Extra Life experience and what led me to this truly awesome fundraiser.

I’m not a stranger to giving to charity but in 2007 I decided to do more than just donate. I work at PF Changs as a server and every year they raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society with the Team in Training. PF Changs is the title sponsor of the Rock and Roll Marathon in Arizona and I decided to train for their half marathon, in hoping to get in runners’ shape and to raise money as well.

I didn’t know anyone with cancer, I just thought it was just something good to do. Little did I know that in October of 07 one of my best friend’s father, Bruce, would be diagnosed with lymphoma. Now it has run in their family and they were prepared for it, but it has opened my eyes and was more determined to raise money and complete the run. I had my own training schedule where I would run every Monday and Wednesday at a popular runners park called Memorial Park and even cross trained at my gym. I ended up raising $4200 total with great sponsors and my job matching some of my donations.

In January 08 we made our way to Phoenix, AZ with other members of Team in Training and my boss from work to take part in the festivities. I just wanted to say it was one of the most inspiring things I’ve ever been a part of and it made me determined to do more. I wish I could just tell you because there was so much that did inspire me.

Well I thought this was something I could do and be a part of, plus I wanted to go all the way and train for a full marathon, 26.2 miles. I signed up for the first Rock and Roll Marathon in San Antonio that was in November and then hopefully for the Houston Marathon the following January. I started training like mad and I was all ready to go. I was just going for completing the whole thing but I wasn’t going for any records or anything.

Well one day in late August, I blew out my knee on a run (which I didn’t think was a big deal at the time) and woke up pretty much frozen on my bed from being so sore and in pain from all the training I had done. I was in the gym 4 days a week, running every Monday and Wednesday, and working on my feet as a waiter on the weekends. It took it’s toll… big time. I decided I needed to take a few weeks off to rest, and then Hurricane Ike hit so I took a longer rest that I had planned.

Sometime in between all that, I remembered hearing Doc on SG Red talking about Tori and Extra Life. Hearing him talk about her always brought a tear to my eye. It could not have come at a better time and I thought I could focus on that while I tried to rest and get back into running shape. I had listened to the SG podcast for a long time but it wasn’t until I took part in Extra Life that I joined the community and the forums. Even now, I don’t post as much but with Extra Life being announced, I might come out of the shadows and post more.

Anyways, I used my connections and past donors to help raise money and in the one short month I managed to raise $500. Some of my regulars even gave me extra tip money to help donate to the cause. I tried to get some of my friends to participate, but they are clueless when it comes to getting sponsors and donors, so I told them they could be part of my gaming marathon. I told them I would move the nighttime part of my gaming marathon to Dave and Busters and they can come join me.

I spent most of the morning playing MegaMan 9, Call of Duty 4, Soul Calibur 4, Grand Theft Auto 4, and Final Fantasy 4. I survived on Cup of Noodles until it was time to go to Dave and Busters to join my friends. We had so much fun just playing the ticket games there like the trivia games and other games like all the gun games. I was just glad they could be part of something that was important to not only me but the SG community and especially the kids were were helping.

I felt so proud of what we did and even more so when I learned the community raised so much money. I was even happy to see my awesome red shirt that came in the mail!

Well that was my Extra Life experience. I hope this can inspire others to try their best and think big this year. I will be posting more articles regarding Extra Life and related articles to help those who need a little extra inspiration. Thanks to Lesley and to Doc and everyone in the SG Community. Let’s earn that extra life together.

TakeoRey
Extra Life Facebook Fan Page

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