Representing Middle States, USTA Serves, and the "Sport of A Lifetime" in New York City

In late July, I opened an email entitled "USTA Serves - Application for NYC Marathon Spot" while delving into my P90X Ab Ripper X workout at Planet Fitness. A month or so earlier, I applied to be a part of the USTA Serves New York Marathon Team. 

The email succinctly and politely stated "Thank you so much for your interest and application to join our Marathon team. We just picked our runners and unfortunately, your name was not selected. We only had a limited number of sports and received quite a few entries." 

My reaction to this reminded me of one of my attempts earlier that week to be hip and relevant with my students. In a mixed high school drill, I told my teenage students that "tennis is a lot like Snapchat. After you hit your shot, it needs to disappear from your thought process and subconscious. Don't linger and dwell on it. Recover and prepare for the next shot." 

In other words, I wasn't too bummed. It was a shot in the dark. It seemed almost too good to be true. I mean, fundraising, tennis, New York City, and running my first marathon? No way this could happen a mere 2 months after moving back to the States. After receiving the news, I knew I needed to focus my efforts elsewhere.  

Maybe I should plan a mini vacation, maybe a concert, a sports conference or a new car...

 A mere week later while, ironically, at Planet Fitness again, I received an email with the subject line "Good News - marathon spot has become available." 

Of course, I jumped on it. This couldn't have come at a better time. 

Just 3 months ago, I returned back to the US after a 20 month stint in Prague, Czech Republic,  where I earned my TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) Certification, worked as a Copywriter/Digital Marketing Specialist, a Job Guidance/Admissions Coordinator and part-time tour guide. 

Leaving behind a life of excited TEFL trainees, guided tours, pub crawls, weekend trips, beer gardens, and breathtaking castle views was something I felt a need to justify. What better way than by doing something meaningful?

This marathon is exactly what I needed. Something to train for, a trigger for good habits, and a fundraising endeavor that will not only bring personal fulfillment (my first ever marathon), but will also bring professional fulfillment since the money I raise will go towards funding youth tennis and educational opportunities for handicapped and underprivileged youth in my district (Middle States). The New York City Marathon will be sure to keep me inspired, engaged and fulfilled over the course of the next few months while I train, raise awareness, and raise funds.  

On this site, I'll share personal advice, insight, and most likely funny stories stemming from my training and fundraising for this epic event. I'll recap the training stories in the "Training: Musings, Mishaps and Milestones" page, and the fundraising endeavors and thank-you's will be recapped in the "Making it Happen" section. 

Thanks for checking this out, and don't forget to donate!