09 September, 2015

I received a real boost of motivation this week!

With less that two weeks to go till the international squad of Rooster Racing (racing under the team/totem name of the Racing Roosters) arrives in Reno, NV for the start of Silver State 508, I received an email from Vicki and Fred Modell of the Jeffrey Modell Foundation. They have once again committed to matching all donations received from this fund raising effort and directing those to the local research efforts of Dr. David B. Lewis and his team at the Jeffrey Modell Research Center of Excellence at Stanford. Dr. Lewis is not only an incredible Physician and Scientist, but we also share a patient/doctor relationship with him.

Vicki and Fred founded the Jeffrey Modell Foundation to honor their son Jeffrey who unfortunately lost his battle with Primary Immunodeficiency (PI) disease at the age of 15. This incredible couple has supported the ONETOUGHRIDE project from the first conference call back we shared back in 2010 when I originally pitched the idea to them. While I may have been the one on the bike since we started this project in 2010, Vicki and Fred (and the rest of the team at the Jeffrey Modell Foundation) have always been right alongside my family and others in motivating me to complete the 18,051 miles and 1,320,961 feet of training and racing that I have done in the past five years!

With just two weeks to go, there is still a lot to do to prepare for the Racing Roosters participation in the Silver State 508. Unlike other ultra cycling races, the length of 508 coupled with the fact that it is a non-stop multi-day race means that the coordination and logistics become a challenge similar to that of the training required to compete in the race.

I am both honored and excited to be on an amazing team where I'll be racing for my son and all of the amazing children and adults around the world that live with and battle PI every day. I'll dig deep to complete my stages on this incredible 4-man team, and would like to raise a call to action by asking you to dig deep and donate to a cause that is VERY PERSONAL TO ME. I also encourage you to learn more about PI at info4pi.org

Thank you in advance for your support, and look for further updates prior to and during the race!

Best,
Steve

Note: Photo above is me on Stage 1 of the 2012 Furnace Creek 508


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