As you may or may not know, I am running the Miami Half-Marathon on January 27, 2008. The reason that I am doing this half-marathon is to raise money for a cure for Crohn's Disease and Ulcerative Colitis.

Obviously this cause is very close to me, as I have Crohn's Disease. I have multiple reasons to do this, the first being that I would benefit from a cure of Crohn's :) and the second being that I would like to be an inspiration to other patients with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) that you can still do things even with this disease.

I'm hoping that if every person I know or am related to will donate at least $5, that will reach my goal. I'm sure some of you know someone besides me that has IBD too, so think of how many lives you will be touching by donating this money.

I'm starting training this week (8/01/07) and will keep you all updated on my progress!

THANKS SO MUCH FOR VISITING MY PAGE AND MAKING A DONATION!!!

Week 1: THANK YOU SO MUCH TO EVERYONE WHO IS JOINING FOR YOUR SUPPORT! The week is over for me. I ran 12 miles total, averaging 10 min miles, which is a little faster than my goal pace for the race. I also did an hour of cross training. A BIG THANK YOU to my mom and dad and MARGEAUX GAGLINANO for their contributions! I have $105.00 so far, who is next? thank you to BECKY STEPHENSON! We're at $115.00! Also, thanks for a new idea for a slogan: "SAVE CHRISTY'S INSIDES!" thank you to my UNCLE ALAN AND AUNT PAM for their $50.00 contribution... we're at $165.00, which is 8% to my goal of $2,000! thank you to BRYAN O'HARE and JENN CULLEN!! $195.00... boy, I better get running! BIG thanks to DAN CORYN... we're at $245.00!! 12% of the way to my goal! Thanks to EVERYONE who has joined this group so far! thank you to LAURA WILSON! 13% of the way there!

WEEK 2: THINGS ARE GOING AWESOME! I ran 16 miles this week, 6 of them being on Saturday! I think I might be able to do this thing after all, cause I'm not sore! I am 15% of the way, and would like to thank Gulf Coast Plastics, Inc, for their $50.00 donation! REMEMBER, YOU CAN HELP OUT BY ASKING YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY IF THEY WILL DONATE TOO! THANKS AGAIN FOR YOUR SUPPORT! Thank you MRS. GALANIE and NIKKI MCCREA! $355.00!!! Thank you thank you thank you to an anonymous donor! $455.00, and 23% of the way to my goal. :) I appreciate everyone's support!

Week 3: a little late! I had a bunch of tests this week. I have a lot of people to thank! GRANDMA AND GRANDPA, AUNT LAURIE AND UNCLE BOB, JARED RILEY, KRISTEN SIEGWARDT, and AUDRA WOERNER, thank you!!!! I'm at $590.00 and 30% of my goal! Every little bit helps, everyone!

week 4: Things are going great! I just finished my last run for the week, and I did 7 miles without stopping to walk... this is very exciting for me! I completed 16 miles total this week :) I had 3 more donations this week, bringing my total to $695.00, 35% of my goal! Not bad for the first month! If I continue at this rate, I will reach my goal! A big thank you to DR. FEENEY (my instructor, not from Boy Meets World), MY BFF NICOLE TAYLOR! and KIM BAUMGARD for their contributions this week!

Here's why you should donate to my run, which goes to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America: Five Good Reasons to Give to CCFA Today: 1. CCFA funds only the best IBD research around the globe. 2. CCFA has played a role in every major scientific breakthrough in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis treatment. 3. Only with your help will our search for the cure, and improved treatments, become a reality. 4. Your dollars work hard: 81¢ of every dollar donated goes to our research, education and support programs. 5. CCFA is one of only seven health charities to earn an "A" rating from the American Institute of Philanthropy. Week 5 was crazy! I had 2 more tests this week, but still managed to run 19 miles! I ran 7 miles again on Sunday... and I actually shaved off 7 minutes! Personally, I thought that was pretty awesome. It was a pretty good week for fundraising too, with a donation from one of my professors and an anonymous donor. I am at $805, which is 40% of my goal to $2,000. Thank you all so much for your support so far, and remember, you can donate whenever you want at this website, it is a tax free donation!

I wanted to do a bit of reminiscing on this week's note. Thanksgiving is coming up, and it has made me think a little bit. What is one thing that so many of us take for granted and don't give our thanks? To me, it is good health. I try to thank God for every day that I am completely healthy... I admit, it is easier to do when you have been on the other side.

I hate to make you all feel sad, but this thanksgiving, there will be many people with Crohn's and Colitis who will be toasting with a yummy Ensure while everyone else eats their turkey and cranberry sauce. This is if they are healthy enough to be out of the hospital, or the toilet, for that matter.

Now here is the best part: you have the opportunity to help the effort to erase these diseases! Donate to my run, where all of the money is going to the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America, which will go to research to eradicate this disease.

Just to keep you up to date, this is my 6th week of training. This week I ran 20 miles, with my longest run being 8 miles. I also had some wonderful people donate this week! Thank you to The FAMIA family, MIKE AND MEREDITH HOLMES, and my great cousin, JOEL AXNER, for their donations this week! I have $963, which is 48% of the way to my goal of $2,000. Will one of you be the next person to put me over the half way point? Thank you to everyone for your support!

week 7 and 8: OK, I know I haven't posted in awhile, but I promise I am still running! Between the holidays and finals, things have been quite busy. To sum things up, I ran 21 miles for week 7 and 22 miles for week 8. I also did a 9 mile run on Sunday, and I held around 9:18 per mile... not too bad if you ask me! I'm originally a swimmer, after all. Thank you to ERVING COLON, TOM SCHMELZ, and CRAIG HILGENBERG for their donations over the past weeks! I have also collected $988!! I am almost 50% of the way to my goal.

Thank you all for your continued support, and please don't forget to pass on the word! It's the season of giving, after all!

WEEK 9: This has to be a short one because its finals week! I can't believe it's been 9 weeks already... I missed a day last week to let my knees rest, they've been a little painful lately. I still did my 9 mile run on Sunday though, and ran the whole thing! Hopefully the next 7 weeks will breeze by! Thanks to my wonderful cousin CLARE and LOUIS RUFO for their donations this week! I've officially raised over $1,000, and am 53% of the way to my goal. Thank you to everyone for your continued support!

WEEK 10 AND 11: I AM STILL RUNNING! It has been kind of crazy. Finals are over, and I some how pulled off a 4.0 this semester! My mother came down to visit for a few days, and now I am back in *sunny* Ohio. I've been averaging 21 miles the last 2 weeks, and have done 10 miles the past 2 Sundays, averaging 1:45.00. Thanks to Kyle's brother, Travis, who ran the first 10 with me... it was pretty brutal, and I'm the one who has been training for over 2 months now! Last week was not so much fun either... I don't like doing 10 miles on a treadmill, but there is no way I am running outside when it is 35 degrees or below. Thanks to Jill Aron for offering to modify my schedule for indoor training. Thanks to LAURA ALDERSON, my aunt ANN, prof. and dr. TOM and SHARON BEVINS, and JAMIE FRUEND for their donations! I am just below $1,300! which is 65% of the way to my goal of $2,000. Please don't forget to donate, I am not doing this run much longer! You can always make a donation in someone's name as a great Christmas present! To those of you in school, have a great winter break, and everyone else, happy holidays!

week 12: It is official! I am 1 MONTH AWAY from my half marathon! This past week I ran 26 miles! I've done 14 so far this week, and am getting ready to do another 7 today... I'm not a big fan of this running in cold weather. I NEED YOUR HELP NOW MORE THAN EVER. Unfortunately, I did not receive any donations this week :( I know it is the holidays, and many of you have been hearing this for 3 months now, but I really need donations! This is where it really counts, as we are in the last month! If all of you could donate and email your friends and family the website to donate, I would really appreciate it! Hope everyone had a wonderful christmas and has a spectacular New Years! My next long run will be in Central Park!

WEEK 13: I can't believe how soon the race is coming up. I did 26 miles again this past week. My 12 mile run was in NYC... from 31st St. to central park, around the park a couple times, and back. It was nice to have a change of scenery, and definitely helped me to learn my way around the city. I'm very excited with how many people responded to my plea last week! I received donations from JACLYN AND STRYKER BURKS, BRITTANY MATTHEWS, AMY RAISANEN, HANNAH JOHNSON, THE WONDERFUL FIDLER FAMILY, and JARED GAVER! Collectively they donated $400... putting me just short of $1,700! That means I only need $300 to reach my goal! Thanks to everyone who has donated so far, and if you are able to, please donate as soon as possible!

WEEK 14: I got a bad virus this week. Had a fever for quite a few days, so it set me back. I got 10 miles in on Sunday, but that was it for this week. Hopefully I'll be able to continue to recover and do all the mileage for this week. School started up again. Only 2 more weeks to the race! I am currently at 87% ($1,743) of the way to my goal of $2000. Thanks to DIANA MOLNAR and an ANONYMOUS donor for this week. If you can donate, please please please do it! I'm so close to my goal! Thanks to everyone for their continued support!

1 WEEK LEFT! I finally kicked the illness... lucky considering the effects that having an autoimmune disease can have! I have a lingering cough, hopefully that will be gone in a week. So between the illness, weight lifting and plyometrics for class, and classwork in general, I got 15 miles done last week. I did 8 today however, and it felt good... 3 months ago I can't imagine being able to say that! It's now taper time, and it's all downhill from here. Some more exciting news... I HAVE REACHED MY GOAL! Exceeded it, in fact! I have officially raised $2,038.37! Thank you to the donors who came through the past 2 weeks... The STINEMANS, AMY WOODWARD, BRANDO, ADAM WARREN, JOHN SEABRIGHT, TOM BARTLEY, LUKE THOMPSON, MY SISTER, THE PEIFFERS, THE TINGLERS, AND THE MASSEYS! Again, thanks to all who helped me raise these funds, I truly appreciate it. I am allowed to go over my goal if anyone still wants to contribute... :)

Otherwise, my final blog will be after the race day! Thanks to everyone who contributed again, that being all 54 who donated, JOHN EMERSON for writing my training plan, VANESSA ARON, who is flying down from Westlake to help pace me, MY PARENTS for their continued financial and emotional support, and all who have offered their support, either by running/ blading with me, given me words of wisdom/support, etc.!