5K was a huge hit!!!

(click on the photo collages to enlarge the pictures)

The Run Royal 5K in honor of Miss Maddie and for the Children's Heart Guild was simply...AWESOME! This Summerfest race had the biggest turnout in it's history with over 140 runners, doubling last year's count. Not bad for a little town with a population of 2,000 people! The support and love we've received from this community is immeasurable and the bottom line is, when someone needs help here in Royal, the love and support comes out of the wood works for the cause. We may not have a stop light or a hotel...but we are first class when it comes to service and helping others. We love it here and are proud to raise our kids as 4th generation residents of the Royal Slope. Maddie is such a lucky little girl to have so many love and care about her! Some of the highlights from the day included...three fellow Seattle Children's heart families joined in to run as well (two of them drove over from the westside), Forrest Gump strolled across the basin just in time for the race, my cousins Ashley, Josh and Susie came over from Seattle to run, and so many great friends and family participated as well. THANK YOU for showing up, bright and early to run 3 miles, up that nasty hill and in the heat!!! You all are so great :)
Heart families posing after the run...Our family, Jill & Kate (VSD,ASD), Trent, Susie & Teagan (HLHS), and Wyndi & Izzy (PHACES, IAA, Pacemaker)
Another member of the "zipper club" with a mended heart is Maggie (ASD), with Maddie & Cousin Savanna
For the $10 race entry fee, the participants received a bag with their t-shirt, bottled H2O, Heart Guild brochure and either a key chain or red bracelet that said CHD AWARENESS. Thanks Tonneka (another heart mom) for sending us the extras from your fundraiser!

So...after the final count of entry fees from the race, as well as some very generous donations, the total raised for Children's Heart Research Guild was over $2,100.00! We are just ecstatic over this...our goal was $1000. A special thanks to our cousins and race organizers, Tyler & Ashlee, for offering us this as the charity of choice for Run Royal this year. The Heart Research Guild (click here for the website) is a newly formed organization formed by parents of children with heart defects and raises money for Children's Research Institute, which is the research arm of Seattle Children's Hospital. Our group wanted to keep the funding local so we could have some say in how the money was used, and that it was used well and for its intended purpose. Most organizations that raise funds for pediatric heart research are on the East Coast so having a "local" organization on this side of the country to fund and affiliated with the wonderful hospital that has saved so many is exciting. When your child's future depends on advancements in medical science, like Maddie's does, there is nothing more I'd like to spend my time and energy on. I've also just recently accepted a position with the guild as Event Coordinator...I'm really excited about it and the wheels are turning in planning future fundraising/CHD awareness events. It's right up my ally and with a community like ours, I know success will be in the equation every time! Thanks to everyone who participated and donated to the run...you are MUCH APPRECIATED!!!