Vesuvius - It’s the Final Countdown...We need YOU to reach our $10k goal. CLICK to read more and Donate

To the Top- For Their Thoughts. 

Can you help?

 

We are fighting for a cure for dementia* – WHY: for our current loved ones... for our future generations ... and heck, for us!! The reality, whether we like it or not, is everyday our odds of getting a brain degeneration disease is rising – but it doesn’t have to be.  So that’s why we’re here: To change course and run for their thoughts, for our thoughts

*Curious on what exactly is dementia?  (You're not alone!):  Common Dementias:  FTD (Frontotemporal Dementia) Pick’s Disease: ALS (Lewy Bodies) : Alzheimer’s : Parkinson’s : Vascular Dementia : Huntington’s Disease : Creutzfeldt-Jakob : etc...

 

NEXT UP: Vesuvius Race!!

Adults, kids and strollers:  26 in all.    This Sunday, 29 October. We will take on Mount Vesuvius - together - the infamous volcano 🌋 that took out Pompeii in a 2k, 5k and 10k UPHILL race to the top!

 

We are on home stretch to reach the milestone goal of $10,000 by my mother's birthday, 21 November and we have 3 events left:

 

• 29 Oct - group run up Mt Vesuvio – 5 days away!
• 12 Nov - Athens Marathon
• 21 Nov - Back to Vesuvio for the final run of the season up the volcano that started this campaign.  

 

The numbers… YOUR IMPACT

• $4,800 – what we’ve raised so far by 45 donors
• 36 – runners that have joined in
• 350 –miles ran
• 106,000 feet in elevation climbed
• 200 shares of the ForTheirThoughts campaign on social media
• 8000 ForTheirThoughts video view
• 
  
• $10,000 – raised, by YOU in 2014 at Mary Hall Memorial ..
• $1 MILLION – Federal government grant thanks to that $10k raised

Oh the Place WE have Gone,…

Alongside 35 others we’ll have huffed it up some amazing and crazy places!!! 

• Mt Vesuvius, active volcano, Italy

• Mt Etna, active volcano, Sicily
• Mogrt , Slovenia
• The treadmill at 7.5 grade for 5 miles (when Vesuvius was on fire)--- it was incredibly boring but I promised a weekly run and a weekly run is what you got.
• Dolomites Sky Marathon ( up and over 8500ft, Italian Alps)
• Path of Gods, Amalfi Coast
• 15 flights of stairs, 7 times - Stairs in Bahrain Hotel (work trip)

The ultimate goal is $100,000.  Will I reach it?  I don't know...but it's too important to not try.

And so, that brings us to now…3 more events to try and reach the $10,000 milestone. From here, I’ll be taking a volcano running break for the winter to work with a team to better the business plan and bring the campaign back in the spring focused on you. 

YOUR stories. 

YOUR loved ones.  

YOUR runs.

(Please message me if you have advice or already know you want to dedicate a run to one of your loved ones)

But for now, I dedicate this phase to:

- Uncle Joe, currently diagnosed with FTD

- My grandmother, Margaret

- And my loving mother, Mary Hall 

- And to all the MILLIONS of caregivers dedicating their time and lives to their loved ones.

You will not be forgotten.  You're too important.  Our next generation is too important.  

Thank YOU, everyone. 

**********************************************************************

How to DONATE 

1. DONATE online button
2. Venmo- @4theirthoughts.  (avoids PayPal fees)

-please leave your email in the memo for a receipt. 

3. Directly on Bluefield Website: http://www.bluefieldproject.org/donate, Memo: "fortheirthoughts"

 

4.  And for those of you like my Dad – Check is always an option

Please mail a check or money order to:

The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia

637 Carolina St.

San Francisco, CA 94107

Memo: ForTheirThoughts

All proceeds go directly to the leading Frontotemporal dementia researchers - Bluefield Project-- teaming with over 20 elite research institutes to accelerate toward a cure. 

 

 

Week 13 - In Honor of Uncle Joe...Who is your "who?"

To Understand the “why” we should raise awareness for dementia.  Let’s understand the “who.”

ü  My mother is my “who.”

ü  My Uncle Joe is my “who.”

ü  My grandmother is my “who.”

Who is your “who?”

As I continue the weekly runs up the volcano, Vesuvius and prepare for Milestone 2: Athens Marathon, 12 November –every step is for my “who.” And to honor them with helping the next generation.  

 Uncle Joe ---a veteran, a teacher, principal, husband, father, uncle.  A man that was admired by the community and had and has a passion for helping others.  In 2013, the same year his sister and niece passed from dementia (my mother and grandmother), he was diagnosed with Frontotemporal Dementia, FTD. 

Who is your “who?”  Who do you know with Alzheimer’s, Parkinson, FTD or ALS?  Take a moment, and define them for how they lived, not the brain disorder they obtained.  If you could help prevent yourself and future generations from going through what he/she has gone through, would you?  Of course you would. 

So I ask again, who is your who?  Comment below and let’s bring awareness together.

This month, Uncle Joe, I run for you.  You are my who. 

Successes to DATE:

1. Ground covered:  Over 400 miles ran; Over 86,000 ft climbed
2. People reached: Over 2000 views on the last video.  Goal:  5000 for this one.
3. Donations raised * $4300 raised.... Milestone 2: $10,000 Goal by Athens Marathon, mid November

*All proceeds going directly to FTD research and tax deductible.

Week 9: For Their Thoughts - Let's Talk About It

This month, we want your advice, let's just focus on exposure and awareness:

1. What makes you want to click share? 
2. What do you want to hear more about ...or less about. 
1. Facts?   Family Story?  Prevention Advice?
3. How best to spread the word? How do we reach 10s of 1000s?

So to kick start the August Awareness, we've outline where we are now.  Read on to find out:

1. Updates on Running For Their Thoughts success to date

2. Update on Bluefield Project's progress toward a cure for FTD!

3. And YOUR impact:  How one little ripple can start the wave to change.

Mtn Running UPDATE:

WK 8: Italian Alp Sky Marathon;  

WK 9: Back to Vesuvius

- $3,655 Raised

-  225 Total Miles Ran: 

- 51,000  Feet Climbed

- by 45 runners and donors

**Video and Photos BELOW!!!**

John F Kennedy once said, "Few will have the greatness to bend history itself, but each of us can work to change a small portion of events.

Join the Run!

Each time a man stands up for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others...he sends forth a tiny ripple of hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls...



  *********************************************************************************************

PROGRESS UPDATE toward a CURE:

 A few Ripples….

by a few individuals…

started Change in Frontotemporal Dementia…

q 2010: 
üNo Treatment
üNo Cure
üNo Prospects for either

Ripple….An ordinary family in Virginia… frustrated, founded Bluefield Project, and teamed up with UCSF.
q 2014: 
üAbout a dozen more research institutes were on board
üTheories on how to suppress or prevent FTD arise…
üMice trials and research underway… 
…But still not treatment or cure…

Ripple….Friends and Family in PA come together and raise $10,000  with community support. --- this $$ secured $1,000,000 from NIH
q Today:
ü21 research institutes – collaborating together
üBiomedical and Pharmaceuticals on board
üResearch pace is accelerating, trials underway
Ripple…. A PA/Cali girl, living in Naples, commits to running mountains until another $100,000 is raised…..For their Thoughts Campaign commences.  45 donors and runners have already joined

q Tomorrow:
ü     hope    
ü treatment    
ü a cure  
********************************************************************************
Dementia is on the rise,
Look left...
Look right...
Look in the mirror...

One of you three is expected to get dementia.  Let's change that.  Let's talk about it so our kids don't have to.  

Please help Awareness August. 
Please consider sharing
~~Thank YOU~~ 



From about 8000 ft, Italian Alps





Pickles - Our Vesuvius mascot!





Jim and I before starting 26 miles



Week 7 of Running For Their Thoughts - Because It's the Right Thing To Do

Someone asked the other day: "Why are you doing this?  Why are you running up a volcano every week and raising $100k?" 

The answer seemed too simple.

And I thought and thought but still kept circling back to the same conclusion: 

It's the right thing to do.  

Week 7 - Vesuvius roads were closed due to fires but I promised a run a week, so inclined treadmill it was!

Yes, I am doing it to honor my mother- who's life was taken in her prime age of 56, the moment she was diagnosed with FTD. 

Yes, I am doing it for my Grandmother, Uncle Steve and my Uncle Joe- also diagnosed with FTD.

Yes, I am doing this for myself- because my family has the genetic form and I am petrified this disease will take me too one day (and I won't give in without a fight). 

Yes, I am doing this for my siblings who have the same risk as I...

And for my nieces and nephews.  So, Josh, who is about to celebrate his 6th birthday can also celebrate his 76th.  

So Lily, also 6, just learning to read and so excited to talk about EVERYTHING that enters her little brain, can keep chattering away until she's 87 years old. 

Yes, I am doing it for all those reasons. 

As well as the big picture --because dementia is a disease, not part of getting old, and the number is expected to  go from the already over whelming number of 35 Million to 115 Million by 2050 (World Health Organization WHO)-- making cancer numbers (which, thankfully, are shrinking due to research) look small.

I could list all the stats that make your eyes go cross. 

Yes, I am doing it for all those reasons.

But bottom line: 

Because it's the right thing to do.  

Period.

End of Story.

Bluefield Project was started by a family that vowed to fight for a cure and not let future generations lose their loved ones to dementia like they lost theirs.  That was in 2010.

Now they are funding and collaborating with 21 research institutes to find a cure.  Working together rather than competing.

Talks with biotech companies and pharmaceuticals have commenced.

Their success and progress is because they saw what was right and acted on it.

Wanna join the action? 

Likes don't save lives, people do.  

TO DONATE:

1. Online - Click the DONATE button on this page

2. Venmo - @ForTheirThoughts  #7244339227. 

3. Mail -
Please mail a check or money order to:

The Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia
637 Carolina St.
San Francisco, CA 94107
Memo: For Their Thoughts



Your gift to the Bluefield Project will help accelerate the search for a cure for frontotemporal dementia. The Bluefield Project is a 501(c)(3) organization. Donations are tax deductible and the tax ID number is 27-2444495. 


A thank you letter/email will be sent with the TAX ID as well.


***Donations over $50 will receive a personal photo from the top of Mt. Vesuvius***

Amalfi Coast - substitute run while Vesuvius is closed from fires

Action Summary by the end of Week 7 (June 6th - July 18)

• 130 miles ran by 7 people 
• 26,000 feet of elevation climbed
• $2,570 raised

• Milestone 1- $2000 - reach two weeks early!

Next up:  26 miles over the Dolomites (Italian Alps) on 28 July. Can we reach $5,000 by then?  With your help, the answer is yes)

Check out "Running for Their Thoughts" YouTube Channel for more videos that week by week tell my family's story

Running For Their Thoughts - Week 3, Full Version

The running continues!!


I'm pretty sure the runs are supposed to get easier but this week was definitely a challenge.  Perhaps it was the heat.  (Or the reality that I do have a very busy day job too haha).  But it was still worth it.


I was humbled and excited to have four colleagues join me on the run.  Two were gentlemen I had just met and heard about the run and wanted to join. 


Oh, and I have definitely gotten on the good side of the Vesuvius dogs.  One in particular -- which I've unofficially named "Pickles" joined us for 5 MILES and ran along!!! 


At the top, as before, I took a few minutes to talk about FTD.  I summarize the beginning--when we realized things were off. 


You can read more about this the blog post "The Beginning - Part I."  - http://pennyfortheirthoughts.blogspot.it/2013/03/post-3-first-signs-part-i.html


I realized on the volcano, that talking about it my mom's journey will be harder than I realized.  It will open up emotions and memories I've set aside...


But I have no regrets.  Zero. 


Dementia is an epidemic that needs more attention and research.  I want to provide the best future for my nieces and nephews and that means minimizing the risk of them going through what we went through with my mom. 


Thank you for your support.


The Halls


campaign to raise awareness and raise $100,000 for a cure for FTD - frontotemporal Dementia.   All proceeds go to BluefieldProject based at UCSF.  We all seem to know someone with dementia. Let's change that for the next generation. Please share on twitter, Facebook, etc.

Running For Their Thoughts: Week 1, Run 1

Week One Run one!  To the Top, for their Thoughts - I'll keep running until $100,000 is raised!


Week One:
I kicked off the "official" campaign 13 June 2017.  I started about 5 miles down the hill and ran switchbacks up to the top (2300ft in elevation change).  10 miles in total.  Definitely a challenging run and I'll push a little further by backing down the mountain a little more every time.


Each week I'll run it again and tell you a little about dementia and my family's journey.  Some weeks hopefully I'll make you laugh, others I may make you cry (or at least make myself cry). 


FTD hits people in their prime.  My mom was only 56.  She was very aware of what was happening to her.  Her memory was intact but her communication skills and executive functions were deteriorating  It started out small...she would have troubles finding words....or she would stand in front of the sink, knowing she was supposed to do something, tears filling her eyes....  Then someone would walk over and hand her the washcloth and it would trigger a light and she'd start washing the dishes.  


Eventually she became mute.


She lost her job.


She lost her license.


All the while she was aware what was happening to her.


The dementia progressed and things became harder and hard for her. 


Her muscles began to atrophy and she began to limp, first her right side started to show paralysis.


Eventually she was wheelchair bound.  ...


We had to puree her food....


At 61 she let go.


There is not a single treatment or cure for FTD.  


Not one thing my family could do to help her.


Bluefield Project to Cure Frontotemporal Dementia (FTD) is working hard to find a cure and working with research and medical institutes across the nation.  With them, there is hope.  And many researchers believe that if they can figure out a cure for FTD it will open up the doors to cure other dementias. 


 I'll go into more detail in future posts.  Please consider joining the campaign. #ForTheirThoughts  #CureFTD. 

Running Volcanos - Every Week until a $100k is raised!

Mt. Vesuvius - standing at about 4200 ft tall, is the largest active volcano in Europe. 

The Skinny:  Beginning Tuesday, 13 June 2017, I am going to hike/run to the top every week until I raise $100k for dementia. 

Trial Run video on YOUTUBE:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7aOqT38UzA&t=6s

As some of you know, I moved to Naples, Italy in March 2017 for a new job opportunity.  It's already been an amazing experience with new work challenges, learning a new language (or at least attempting) and traveling to new places/experiencing new cultures.  I no doubt feel extremely lucky to have this opportunity.

But I also believe you truly live in the present and life is best when it's not about yourself.

Everything since I've been here has been about me.

I was reflecting on this the other night and how I've been living silently in what my sister calls "The Eye of the Storm." 

The time after the passing of my grandmother and mother but before my generation (and maybe even myself) begins to show FTD (frontotemporal dementia) symptoms and it all begins again.  For our family, without a cure, it's not a matter of if, it's a matter of when.

I then began reflecting on a promise I've made to not forget or give up.  Planning a benefit has proved to be challenging with my constant relocation of work.  What else could be done?

I run anyways...and I've been meaning to pick up my hill runs for an upcoming race....

And so I went to bed with the crazy idea of running Mt. Vesuvius once a week to raise money - maybe $10k?

I woke yesterday morning and decided $10k was not good enough.  It was time to really up the ante. 

$100k

If that takes me a year.  It takes me a year. 

I did a trial run last night to see how realistic it was. 

On the trial run....
I learned that I should wear bug spray when running up a forest road in the hot summer.
I learned I should also wear a reflective belt when climbing a windy volcano road that often has heavy cloud cover at the top.

I learned I'll be walking/running for a bit...

I learned it's gonna be tough and tiring but I'm going to do it; I will not give up.


I'll use video / social media to log the runs, and keep everyone updated.  I'll educate and hopefully amuse you all along the way.  (There may be costumes involved in the future...).  I hope to tell others stories, touch your hearts and souls.  Every one of us knows someone suffering from dementia.  Some of you may even be caregivers -- the unspoken, unnoticed hero.  Keeping it together even when their heart is breaking.

Finally, I hope this encourages others to run mountains to reach their own goals.  (Hills are ok too).

There is more to come....this is just the beginning.

One climb at a time, one week at a time, til $100k is raised. 

---Betsy Hall - See ya at the Top!!

#PennyForTheirThoughts  via  #RunningForTheirThoughts

Check out Video 1 of the Trial run on Youtube:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d7aOqT38UzA&t=6s