Fox Valley Marathon = Awesomeness

I would like to congratulate Chuck, Moses, Jill, Tricia, Gail and Suzanne who were there to run!!!

First of the three races I have dedicated to the Carpentersville Fish Food Pantry was a huge success. It was the inaugural Fox Valley Marathon. I have to split my running life in two:

The first was from age 15 to 24, I ran my first marathon at the tender and innocent age of 17. My first marathon ever was 4:05 time. From there I started running a little more frequent and at the age of 22 years young (still innocent) I ran my personal best ever which was a 3:27 marathon. I ran my 7th and last marathon at the age of 24, the year before I got married... Yes, I always blame my wife!!!

There were 12 long years without running a marathon. Here comes my second time around into running... 2007, I started running a little again. 2008, I decided to get into running again... I was about close to 174 lbs!!! I started training hard, running too much and too fast, too quick (if I had just listened to Coach Karie. I signed up to run the Chicago Marathon, 13 years after my last one now at the tender age of 37. Well I made it to the marathon totally injured but I was able to finished it because that's what I do but it took me a very painful 5:10 (yuck). Here comes 2009, now I am more determined than ever to train right and get better and more importantly lose weight... I go under Coach Karie and I kind of listen to her (she will say otherwise), well I am coachable but sometimes I choose what to hear!!! But she gets me to the Marathon healthy and about 15 lbs lighter... I run the Chicago Marathon in 4:05 and no injuries (I told you, I should have listened to Coach Karie). Well comes 2010 and now I become an Ultra Marathon runner... Well you know the rest but where I am going to ( man, I almost forgot)is that I ran a personal best in my second running life. I ran a 3:54!!! Yeah baby, under 4 hour marathon... And for the record, I have now lost 20 lbs since I started running again... Here is a Picture of my awesome last year coach Karie:



Here she is along with my awesome friend Robin presenting me with the Juan-to-be a Machine certificate in 2009. Well coach, you sure helped me get strong and get me prepared for 2010.


Well my friends one race down two more to go... I will have details very soon and how you can help me with your donations of money or perishable food for the Carpentersville Fish Food Pantry. Here I leave you with some more pictures from the Fox Valley Marathon...







Thank you for your support and your prayers!!!



Juan "The Machine" Juarez

New Charity Decision

Well, I have chosen the Carpentersville Fish Food Pantry. We have Thanksgiving coming up and it gives me 2 months to collect money and/or food. I hope many of you help me by supporting me with your prayers and also with money or food. I will run the 3 races that I mentioned before for this cause.

Next week, I will give more details on how to donate. Right now I have to get ready to run the Fox Valley Marathon and 10 more miles at the end of it to make it a nice 36 mile run tomorrow Sunday...

God Bless you my friends!!!

Juan "the machine" Juarez

Charity update and new charity

As many of you know,the entire year I been running to collect money to help local charities. My friend Anastasia and I, collected close to $1500.00 for the Lake in the Hills/ Algonquin Food Pantry from January to the end of May.




From June to the first week of September, I collected money to help the Rotary Club of Carpentersville for Operation Warm. I was able to collect close to $500.00 in money that will buy Winter Jackets for kids from the Boys and Girls Club in the Carpentersville Area.



I am extremely proud that my friends and family have been supportive of my running and specially they have been supportive of helping me with their contributions to these local charities. It is very important to me, to be able to help the community around the areas where I live (Carpentersville) and where I have my Business (Lake in the Hills).

My Company Solstice Technology Solutions has contributed with close to $500.00 to both of these charities. Something that I am also very proud of!!!



http://www.stsorder.com/

I can with all honesty tell you that I am having so much fun running more than I have ever ran before. I have met so many new people in the process, some fantastic people. So I keep thinking what else can I do? How else can I help those in need in our communities. I was thinking I can ask for food and money since Thanksgiving day is coming up in November and that would give me 2 months to collect as much as possible. That's one idea but I wanted to open it to all and see if you my friends can give me other ideas. I can also help my Church, I can also help The Knights of Columbus, I can continue to help the Rotary Club of Carpentersville. Any idea(s) that you have, the only requirement is that it must be for a local charity. Anywhere in the Fox Valley area.

Here are the races I have left until the end of October and I would dedicate these races for whet ever charity we come up with:

Fox Valley Marathon 09/19/10 26.2 miles and at the end I am turning around and running another 6 to 10 miles to make it an ultra marathon. St Charles, IL.

http://www.foxvalleymarathon.com/


Chicago Marathon 10/10/10 26.2 miles I am not sure that my coach will let me run another 6 or 10 miles since it will be getting close to my next race but I will ask. Chicago, IL.

http://www.chicagomarathon.com/cms400min/chicago_marathon/

Javelina Jundred 100 10/23/10 101.4 miles Here is a nice description of the race:

Scottsdale, AZ.

Course Description (Clockwise direction)
The race begins at the Pemberton Trailhead and heads south across the dirt parking lot, quickly narrowing onto a mix of sand and gravel covered, rolling single track. The trail crosses McDowell Mountain Park Drive a few hundred meters later and continues with more undulating hills. In the next mile, the trail crosses several very sandy areas including Pemberton Wash.

Continuing past the Tonto Tank Trail junction and the sandy area, the trail makes a sharp turn to the left at the base of long hill. A short while later, the trail curves to the right and begins to ascend the hill. The next couple of miles are a steady climb up very rocky trail. There are large rocks embedded in the trail and smaller rocks loosely covering the trail. The rocks soon subside and the trail evens out as it turns north approaching the McDowell Mountains. The hills and valleys become more significant at this point. After dipping in and out of several dry washes, you will reach the second junction with the Tonto Tank Trail (where you will turn on the final seventh loop) and the first aid station, Coyote Camp.

After the first aid station, the trail dips in and out of even larger sandy washes and desert drainages as the trail continues to head north. There will be many times where you lose and gain anywhere from 20 to 50 feet of elevation. The trail here is a bit narrow and there are some round logs placed in the trail to prevent erosion which you must run over, but it is mostly clear of the rocks present in the first section.

You will wind through the desert and around some neat boulder formations before the trail flattens out and follows a barbed wire fence line. There are some minor rolling hills through here before making a sharp right turn and entering another sandy wash. The trail becomes significantly more gradual from this point on. This sandy area stretches to the next aid station where the trail joins an old jeep road which is wide enough for vehicles to reach the aid station at Jackass Junction.

This road descends past the aid station to a junction shortly after Cedar Tank where the trail leaves the jeep road and again becomes narrow, dipping in and out of a series of sandy washes that are only a couple of feet high. The trail soon crosses a paved park road and continues in much the same fashion back to the Pemberton Trailhead.
The final loop follows the Pemberton Trail rom Javelina Jeadquarters to Coyote Camp. Just before the aid station, the Tonto Tank Trail departs to the right. Take this very nice, rock free trail downhill until it rejoins with the Pemberton Trail. Turn left and run back to the finish line and you are done!

http://www.javelinajundred.com/page.php?2

As you can see, we have many exciting runs ahead. And I am saying we because it is your words of support that continue to help me move forward. My family has been behind me 100% of the time, we have made some adjustments but overall life has gone on without many big changes. Please give me any ideas you may have to help a local charity but my goal is to have identify the charity by Saturday...

Thanks and God Bless you and your love ones... Here are some pictures of a few people who have done so much to help me this year getting ready to all the running I have done:








There are a million more pictures I can post here with all the wonderful people in my life and all the wonderful Ultra people I have met this year. I will leave you with a picture that is my driving force... My daughters!!! I can move a mountain for them and when my body feels like it can't move any more, all I have to do is close my eyes and think about my Monica and Karla... I love you girls!!!



Juan "the machine" Juarez

Looking for a company to sponsor me

Looking for a company or two that would like to sponsor me with my running. I am running the new Fox Valley Marathon (september) and the Chicago Marathon (October). Followed by my 100 mile race. I am looking to make running shirts with the sponsor(s) name. Please e-mail me, if you are interested and I can give you more information. I am visible to tons of people everyday, Chicago Marathon its huge. Fox Valley marathon is going to have 1200 runners and a ton of spectators. Running is not cheap, shoes, clothing, races, travel expenses. My own company will be one of my sponsors... Also please keep in mind that all my running is done for charity...

Thanks,

Juan "The Machine" Juarez

The Training continues for the 100 Mile race in October

It has been a while since I last wrote but one thing has continued non-stop... I am still running...

The last 3 weeks I have put the following miles a week, 50, 57 and last week 68 miles. This week I will be running 72 miles and finally next week, I get what we call a drop back week. Which means I get to slow down on my mileage.

Many people wonder if I am crazy and I just run to run and the answer is YES, I am crazy but NO, I don't just run... A little over three weeks ago, I hired a super ultra marathon coach. His name is Todd Braje, I first found out about Todd from my great friend Michele Hartwig. They both belong to team Inov-8, in the event you don't recognized the name Inov-8, they make trail shoes... In fact that's all they do, trail shoes is their core business. Well Todd happened to have won the Ice Age 50 mile race I ran in WI in May. He also won the 50 Mile race that I ran in Devil's Lake in July also in WI. Lastly Todd won the US National 100 mile trail National Championship last month in Ohio. He has been giving me a schedule that I follow every week. He has been extremely helpful in putting this training together for me. I feel that I am getting healthy and stronger at the right time.

Two weeks ago I ran a 32.4 mile race with my friends from the Chicago Ultrarunners club in Palos Heights. It took me a little bit over 7 hours to cover that distance, it was slow but considering that it was over 90 degrees and 1000% humidity, I would take it. My training is getting intense, the miles are getting longer but I am loving every second of it...

I am running once a week at night and that's always scary and a little bit stressful. Tomorrow my best friend Anastasia and I are going to run 15 to 20 miles at night and that will be a new experience for me. Yesterday, we were exactly two months away from our 100 miler at Javalina 100. It is getting closer and I am not going to lie that I am not just getting excited but I am also getting nervous. I remember exactly what my body felt like at the 50 miler and to think that in October, I will have to do that twice is a little bit scary. That been said, I consider this to be a great challenge, I consider this to be an opportunity to push my body, my mind and my heart to a new level of toughness.

What's next for me, well last of miles but I am running 2 or 3 marathons in the next weeks before the 100 miler. I know I am running the Fox Valley and Chicago Marathon and possibly the Milwaukee marathon. I am already running 26 to 30 miles every Saturday so I may as well run the marathons and have fun...

I am looking forward to seeing some of you on the running roads or trails... Please remember that I am running for Operations Warm. The Rotary Club of Carpentersville is heading this project and I am running to collect money so we can buy winter jackets for kids of low income families. We want to ensure that these kids have the opportunity to go to school. Many times the kids don't go to school during the winter because they don't have a jacket to go outside. Please help us, $20 can buy a nice winter jacket for these kids. As of now, I have collected about $460.00 Please ask me how you too can help us by donating a minimum of $20.00

Thanks and God Bless you!!!

Juan "the machine" Juarez

Project Warm Race 2 - Sunburn Six in the Stix

After the 50k the weekend before at Devil's Lake, I felt a little bit of unfinished business. Since I had to drop from the 50 mile race to the 50 Kilometer race, I felt that I needed to rebound quickly. Well two days after the 50K on Monday, I went for a 2 mile run and my muscles were screaming in pain but I ran 2 miles at a nice 10:30 minute per mile pace. Two days later on Wednesday, it happened to be my partner in crime and brother in law's birthday (Mr. Moses Plomero). His wife grilled some pork chops for his bday celebration and we ate like pigs... about an hour and a half later Moses told me he was going for a run, I was like are you crazy? We ate so much and he said, well I am going. So I decided to go too and see how my legs would feel. We went for a 5 mile run and we ran a nice 9 minute per mile pace. My muscles were still huritng but nothing like two days prior. This is when I decided that I needed to go for a long run soon. The following day, my best friend Anastasia texted me to tell me she wanted to do a 6 hour fun run race that was posted in facebook with the Chicago Ultrarunners club. So I said, yeah let's do it... I was all excited about it but nervous because I wasn't sure if my legs would be able to handle running for 6 hours after having ran the 50K the weekend before. And plus there was the question of my back, can my back take it...

I found out Friday night that Anastasia wasn't doing it anymore because she was still sore. Let's be fair to her, she ran the 50 mile race the week before unlike me. I decided that I would go ahead and run it anyway. I didn't know anyone at the race but I figured that it would be a great way to meet new people. I woke up Saturday early and got my stuff to go run the 6 hour fun run race. The race started at 7:30 am so it was already hot by the time it started. Something very interesting about this race is that there is no trees anywhere on the trail so there is obsolutely no way of hidding from our friend the sun. Well I am so happy that I came to this event. I met some great people, Dan, Brian, Kelly, Amanda, Tony, Torey, Ian and more that I can't even remember right now...



I started running with Dan, which is pictured above and I think we ran a good 10 miles together... Along the way, I met Torey and she ran some with us as well. It is always awesome to see how runners are such cool and friendly people. To listen to their stories and to tell them yours...

I was able to run 16 miles in 3 hours but by them it was 10:30 am and the sun was already kicking our butts, well mine for sure... My legs felt decent but I was starting to feel a little tired. My lower back was bothering me a little but it wasn't horrible. I told myself, Juan just take it one hour at a time and let's see what happens. Well the last 3 hours I only covered 10 more miles. The biggest reason was really how hot it was and we think the temperature went up as high as 94 degrees. But part of it was also been tired from the week before. So I was able to run and yes walk sometimes towards the last two hours a total of 26 miles. I was very proud of myself, to be able to come back one week later and be on my feet for 6 hours. I came in 16th place out of 49 runners and I was extremely happy about that. The next day Sunday I was ready to run again but I decided to relax and wait for Monday. Monday I ran 10.5 miles, 6 miles with the LTF running club. The reason why I mention this is because I feel like I have now reached a new level of fitness. I feel like my legs can do a lot more than just two months ago. The training, the races over the past 7 months are really starting to make my body very strong. I am now signed up for a 32 mile race on August 14th and of course the ultimate challange is October 23rd when I go for my first ever 100 mile race in Arizona... Stay tuned for more, this machine has a lot more to give... Please consider making a donation to Project Warm. a $20.00 donation can help buy a jacket for the winter so that a low income kid can go to school in the winter.


The machine Juarez always happy to take on the next challange!!!



After the race with my new friend Brian... Thanks Brian for putting this event together. It was just Juantastic!!!

Project Warm Race 1 - Dances with Dirt 50K 071010

This was my first race dedicated to Project Warm. I had decided to run the 50 mile race in Devil's Lake, WI. The race is called Dances with Dirt. I knew it was going to be tough but I didn't think it was going to be as difficult as it was. We had 6 members from our Life Time Fitness Running club coming to run this race and they also camped out with us the night before. Picture from left to right, Chuck, Kamil, Robin, Anastasia, Mike and myself.

A month before I had decided to take a camping trip with my family so that they could be having fun while I was running the race, and maybe they could see me running at some point. We camped out in Baraboo Hills Campground in Baraboo, WI. The campground was located 25 minutes away from the start of the race so it was perfect to stay there and not have to wake up so early to start our race.

Saturday July 10th, we woke up at 4 a.m. to get ready and we were at the starting location by 5:15 a.m. I was already concern about my lower back since I was having some issues since 3 or 4 weeks before and I am sure sleeping on a inflatable mattress was not ideal for my back. Regardless of my back problems, I was so excited to be there running my second 50 mile race of the year. It was so great to have my best friend Anastasia there running with me, along with the rest of my great friends that I mentioned above.



We started running exactly at 5:30 a.m.

Leg 1 is called "ski trip", it is 4.5 miles long and it has an elevation of 970ft and you descend exactly the same elevation, so your legs feel it right away from the start of the race.
Leg 2 is called "into thin air", this is 4.2 miles long and it has an elevation of 850ft and it descends 440ft. Here is when we get a chance to run some of the beautiful single Ice Age trail.
Leg 3 is called "rave run", this is a short 1.5 mile run where you get to take a chance on elevation with only 100ft and it descends 220 ft. nice chance to take a little break.
Leg 4 is called "swirling the bowl", this is 3.7 miles long with 320ft elevation and it descends 500ft SO it may look like you are not going up a lot but going down is not much easier on your legs as you may think.
Leg 5 is called "Yo Yo", this is 3.2 miles long and it has an elevation of 638ft and it descends 496ft. They claim this is the time to catch our breath but it felt like we were always going up. This is when you start thinking is this heaven? or is this hell?
Leg 6 is called "the Burma road", this is 2.4 miles long of easy out and back shady gravel road. 190ft elevation and 190ft descend so it was nice an easy and it was the last time that I actually ran hard trying to catch my friends Anastasia and Robin. They were running about a mile ahead of me and I was able to see them for last time. I gave it a try but by the end I knew that my back was hurting horrible and probably the fact that I was running really hard here just finished the job.
Leg 7 is called "over the edge", this is 1.9 miles long. It has 490FT of elevation and it descends 290ft. the first half mile is off trail with terrible footing, a lot of rocks and easy to twist an ankle.
Leg 8 is called "no bluffin", this is only 2.2 miles long but it felt like the end of the world... The elevation here goes straight up 800FT and it descends 420ft, this is when my back was saying "NO MAS", no more... As soon as I got to the top of these rock steps, I wasn't even sure if I could continue. By now my lower back pain was horrible, I had taken some pain medicine but it didn't do anything for me.
Leg 9 is called "Hold/Fold", this is 1.6 miles long and the easiest leg of the race with only 90ft of elevation and 290ft to descend. This is decision point at this point we have covered 25.2 miles of the race and you can decide to drop from the 50 mile race to a 50K race (31 miles). At this point I was barely running, my back couldn't take the pain anymore. My legs were still in decent shape but the bouncing when running was killing me. I stayed here for about 3 minutes really thinking hard if I should continue and try for the 50 miles or just be happy to complete the 50K. I decided that my back was more important than my ego and trust me that was not an easy decision... My friends who continue to the 50 miler had to do legs 4 to 9 all over. for me it continues next.
Leg 10 is called " Rave run backwards", this is 1.5 miles and the elevation is 220 ft. we only descended 100ft so this was fairly nice. This was leg 2 going the opposite direction.
Leg 11 is called "yeah that's what I am talking about", this is 4.2 miles with 440ft of elevation but we did go down a lot 850ft descend, at this point I was totally done, i was almost just walking and even the downhills hurt like crazy, I just wanted to finish already. This was a sad moment for a few minutes for me. When I finished there was nobody waiting for me at the end because my family didn't know that I had dropped to the 50K. I have to admit that I did cry for a couple of minutes because I felt I had failed to finished the 50 miles. After a couple of minutes it became clear in my head that I should be proud of myself because I basically ran 27 of the 31 miles with lower back pain and I didn't stop, at the very least I finished a 50K ultra Marathon.
Leg 12 is called "ski trip", this is 4.5 miles and this is the end for my friends running the 50 miles. They had to run/walk uphill 970ft and that was after already having run 45 miles and the descend was also 970ft. What a brutal way to finish a 50 mile run but all my 5 team members did it. You guys are amazing!!!



I am so looking forward to going back next year and running the 50 mile race. I will always finish what I start. I promise you that thinking about Operation Warm is what kept me going with pain in my 31 mile run. Thinking that my running can help kids get a winter jacket this winter is something that is fueling my desire to train harder and go longer and take more pain... Please consider donating $20.00 to the Carpentersville Rotary Club so we can buy winter jackets for all the kids in need.

I hope this has given you an idea of what the Devil's Lake Ultra was all about and I thank you from the bottom of my heart for helping and if not I thank you anyway for reading my blog... God Bless you and your families...



Juan "the machine" Juarez

Operation Warm - Let's help the KIDS in Carpentersville

I have decided to run my following two races to help getting winter coats for the low income families but specifically the kids in Carpentersville, IL:

I will be running The Devil's Lake 50 Mile race in Wisconsin on July 10th:

http://www.dwddevilslake.com

and to close this great challange, I will be running my firts ever 100 mile race. The Lean Horse Hundred (100 miles) on August 28th and 29th:

http://www.leanhorsehundred.com



My fellow friends, I promise you that I will not rest to get my body ready for that 100 mile race. I promise you that every step I take during my training and during my two races, all these kids will be pushing my mind, my heart and my body, to continue and to finish the races. I am commiting my time, my body and my money to help this great cause. I believe in helping my community, I believe in helping my fellow brothers and sisters but more importantly I believe in helping the kids in need of our help. Please join me in donating and helping the kids of Carpentersville. Today is for Carpentersville, tomorrow it could be for your town... We are asking for a $20.00 donation that will help buy a winter coat for a kid in need and if you can donate more, it would be very much appreciated. My company Solstice Technology Solutions (www.stsorder.com) and I are commited on donating $100.00 for each race I complete. Please read the information below and as you make your donation, please make sure to write down my name on the comment section of your check so we can keep track of the people who are supporting not only this great cause but the people that are also supporting me on this wonderful journey... As always, I am your humble servant and please let me know if you have any questions.

Juan "the machine" Juarez

This is a letter from our wonderful Chairperson Donna, who is leading this wonderful project:

My name is Donna Zoellick and I am Chairperson of Operation Warm for the Rotary Club of Carpentersville. The Rotary is a service organization which helps people in need. Read about Rotary worldwide at www.rotary.org. Operation Warm is a project to provide new winter coats to children whose families cannot provide one for them. Rotary purchases these new coats for $20 each. A carton contains six coats of thee colors, one size per box and gender specific. Rotary is raising money to buy as many boxes of coats as we can.

Carpentersville is a community with a wide range of economic diversity. The school system has a department that identifies families in need and is a funnel for the help given by Rotary and other organizations. The tough economy has increased the number of people in need. When the department head from the school system spoke to Rotary she outlined a large number of students in K-12 grades that needed help. There are even some students that are homeless and parentless. This is the United States of America. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!!

Last year was the first year Rotary provided coats and we had little time to do so. We were proud to have raised enough money to provide 210 new coats to students at Golfview Elementary School. A new coat gives a child a sense of pride. To earn their coats the students wrote an essay on what the Boys and Girls Club of Dundee Township meant to them. Since we had limited funds the Boys and Girls Club identified children in need at the school who participated in their program. The essays were read out loud to all. Many children said that the Boys and Girls Club helped them with their homework and gave them a safe place to go after school. They also said that they were happy to get dinner from the Boys and Girls Club. Many of the children would not get dinner if it was not provided by the Boys and Girls Club. Some parents keep the children home in the winter since they cannot provide them with a coat. This is the United States of America. THIS SHOULD NOT HAPPEN!!

Last fall the new coats were a surprise for the kids. They were treated to a party and then led into the gym for the presentation of a coat to each child. There were many smiling faces. Those of us in Rotary and the Boys and Girls Club were touched by their gratitude.

This year Rotary has a goal to raise enough money to provide a new coat for every needy child in Carpentersville grades Kindergarten through 12th grade. It is a lofty goal but with the generosity of local businesses and citizens Rotary can achieve this goal. Operation Warm will be an annual cause for the Carpentersville Rotary. Children continue to grow and need new coats. New children enter the school system.

Rotary understands that these are tough times for us all. If you can help us in any way with a donation toward the new coat Operation Warm project we would appreciate it. Cash donations can be made at First American Bank, 261 S. Western Ave., Carpentersville, IL 60110 or send a check to Carpentersville Rotary Charitable Foundation, PO Box 946, Carpentersville, IL 60110. Rotary will order the coats in the month of September so we need your donations soon. The Rotary Club of Carpentersville thanks you in advance for your generosity.

Sincerely,

Donna Zoellick, Chairperson, Operation Warm
The Rotary Club of Carpentersville





As I side note, I am also a member of the Carpentersville Rotary Club. We are looking for new members to join us in the Rotary Club. We are always looking for new talent and more importantly, we are looking for people who want to make a difference in the community. Please join me for a free breakfast at our next meeting and let me show you, how you too can make a difference (and you won't have to run 100 miles :0) ) Please let me know if you would be interested in attending a meeting.

Juan Juarez

Welcome to my new personal blog

I want to thank you personally if you are reading my new post. This means I have made enough noise to make you take a peak at my new blog. I am fairly new to blogging so I hope that I won't bored you to death with my writing... I am very good at socializing in person (let's party), but I can tell you that I am not the best writer, not even in my own house...

The main reason why I have decided to do this blog is to keep you all informed of my charity work. This year (2010), along with my friend Anastasia, we decided to run 3 races (26.2, 31 and 50 mile races within 70 days) for the Algonquin/Lake in the Hills Food Pantry. We were able to collect $1420.00 for the food pantry. Obviously, we wouldn't have been able to do it without the genorosity of our friends and family. For those of you who know me, you know that I love running with a passion. Running Ultra Marathons have created an even gibber love for the sport of long distance running for me.

I am utilizing my running as a way to give back to my community. Many great people have utilized their talents and monies to help other countries, to help other bigger International charities. I have decided that we also have a responsibility to help our sorrounding communities. Places like my town Carpentersville, adjecent towns like Algonquin, Lake in the Hills, Dundee, Elgin... All these towns also have many families that are struggling to pay their mortgage, pay the rent, buy groceries or even have a winter jacket for the winter season. This is why I have decided to help local charities. Charities like the Algonquin/LITH Food pantry, the Carpentersville Food pantry, the Boys and Girls local Club. I know I can make a difference in my community and that's one of the reason why I am part of the Carpentersville Rotary Club.

I invite you to read my blog, find out what crazy races I am doing. More importantly, I invite you to help our community if you can. Please make a donation to the charity that I am working on and I promise you that I will leave my soul and body in every 50 and 100 mile race that I run and that I complete. My company Solstice Technology Solutions (www.stsorder.com) is also a contributor to these charities. I have heard many times that one man can't change the world, but many of us that care and love others, with the help of God can and will make a difference...

Thank you,

Juan "the machine" Juarez