SO EXCITED to be running this half marathon + fundraising for Children's Hospitals! I am a loving mother to a very special little boy, Zayden. Born on 1/12/2015, Zayden has a complex congential heart defect called Tricuspid Atresia. At 10 days old he had his first heart surgery, followed by one more heart surgery at seven months old, immediately after his second surgery they had to go back in to fix a severed artery. Zayden will have at least one more heart surgery in two years, but will never be "fixed". I can't even begin to explain how incredibly difficult the first year was, but we have been truly blessed by all of the capable, talented, and caring doctors and nurses at Children's. I've never doubted for a second that we were in the right hands. In November of 2015 I started running regularly and it has been exactly the therapy that I needed to help me stay focused and present for my special little man. How blessed to be able to pair running with raising funds for Children's to provide for more families like ours!

A few facts about Children’s:

• One of the largest pediatric health systems in the United States—with two hospitals, 12 primary and specialty care clinics and six rehabilitation sites
• The only health system in Minnesota to provide care exclusively to children from before birth through young adulthood
• An award-winning health system, regularly ranked by U.S. News & World Report as a top children’s hospital

Children’s sponsors “Team Superstars”. Any runner can be a part of Team Superstars by pledging to raise either $750 (full marathon) or $1000 (half marathon).

And although many of these kids’ families lack insurance or financial resources to pay, Children’s of MN never turns away a child in need of critical care. When your mission is to save lives, ability to pay does not enter into the equation. That is part of the reason philanthropy is so important to Children’s.

I really hope my friends and family will find it in their hearts to help me raise at least $1,000 for this awesome cause.