Two reasons to run in the California sunshine in October: San Jose and Long Beach...the NFET needs your help. Please spread the word that we will be participating in the Rock 'n' Roll San Jose Marathon on Oct. 4, 2009 and in the Long Beach Marathon on Oct. 11, 2009 in Long Beach. Use this newsletter to learn more about these two events. Sign up today!
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ROCK 'N' ROLL SAN JOSE HALF MARATHON
Oct. 4, 2009
LONG BEACH MARATHON
Oct. 11, 2009
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WHO is your reason for enduring the run?
My mom fought NF2 her whole life and she also endured the loss of her mom and brother to NF2. When Mom died at 39 she was d eaf, almost blind, paralyzed from the waist down and living in a nursing home. She had over thirty brain tumors and her spine was so riddled by tumors they just couldn't count anymore. She loved my son JT more than anything in the world and cried deeper than I had ever seen a person cry the day he was diagnosed with NF2. I promised her it would be OK, I promised her I would take care of him and that things would be different for him.
I wish she had lived a bit longer to see all the changes taking place...how she could see how because of organizations like CTF, JT can now look forward to the future.
JT was diagnosed at six months with NF2. Due to an NF2 related vision impairment, he is blind in one eye and impaired in the other. He is incredibly smart and just started learning about NF and making NF friends through CTF events. He loves his glasses and tells me all the girls tell him he is cute with them! His personality is adorable an d when I am not feeling well he is the first one to say, "I'll take care of you Mommy." He already knows sign language and interprets for me as best he can. He was fingerspelling the entire alphabet at age 2! When I look at JT I just want to be around to watch him group up, and keep hope that he may never know what it was like for those of us before a cure! For JT, I would run to the end of the world if it meant a cure.
--Olivia Hernandez, mom with NF2 and Long Beach Team Captain
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From the San Jose Team Captain
Not only do we know the way to San Jose...we know how to rock it! Each week our team is building with people from different places joining forces to race for a cure of NF. As we partner with Elite racing again our team will dot the half marathon course with yellow NF singlets, family members, friends and newcomers to the NFET. 
As team captain, I am thrilled to be able to meet the veteran team members that I have heard about as well as introduce many new runners with no NF touch to the team. It is my hope to rock San Jose with a team of 50 or more. Will you help spread the word and share this e-blast with others? Last year we had about 30 runners and we would like to see even more NF yellow on the course. Together, we can make a difference as we race for research. There have been significant strides made in research in 2009...just check out our team fundraising dollars at work or our advancements in foundation funded clinical trials to see the difference you are making.
Until there's a cure!
Tracy Draper
tdraper@ctf.org
p.s. We can always use volunteers! If you or someone in your family would like to help please e-mail me.
San Jose Pasta Dinner: For details please e-mail Beth Harkins at bharkins@ctf.org
San Jose Team Hotel Information:
The Sainte Claire
302 South Market Street
San Jose, CA
Price: $109 plus tax for 2 double beds
From the Long Beach Team CaptainI am excited to serve as team captain at the 2009 Long Beach Marathon benefiting the Children's Tumor Foundation! NF can be a heartbreaking disorder, but running for the NF Endurance Team has helped me  to stay hopeful about the future. I have been through numerous brain and spine surgeries and I am now completely deaf. I have loved and lost three members of my family and watched my beautiful son be diagnosed with the same disease I have fought for so long. I had no idea what I could do and wanted to feel as though I was contributing to something positive. I wanted to make a difference for everyone with NF. Running with the NF Endurance Team has given me direction, helped me to meet other wonderful people fighting the same battle, and has given me a way to fight back!
When I am running I know that every step I take is a step closer to a cure. As I move forward I can feel the past fall behind me.When the race starts, we all take off at our own speeds, but we still cross the same finish line at the end. You can run, jog, walk, or cheer, but whatever you do, you are a part of the team and we would love to see you in Long Beach on October 11th supporting the Children's Tumor Foundation in any way you can!
Join us as we run for a cure and never give up hope!Olivia Hernandezokamador@aol.comPasta Dinner & Hotel Information: For details please e-mail Beth Harkins at bharkins@ctf.org
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