Wednesday, January 16, 2008

Saying Thank You

Yea! I received my first handful of donations in the mail today. At the end of the marathon/fundraising season I will send out a letter with a post-marathon wrap-up and general thank-you to all my donors. However, I also want to send some sort of note right after receiving donations in recognition of their generousity. This can get expensive considering the initial mailing cost of two stamps per letter (I include an enclosed stamp envelope in each letter to make it easy for my donors).

Going along with my Peanuts theme, there are a bunch of e-cards on the snoopy.com website which may be a fun, unique, quick (and affordable!) means to thank my donors. My main concern is that I'm not so sure many of the donors will actually open an email from the webmaster at snoopy.com (would you??). It is helpful that in the note they send with a link to the e-card they mention who the card comes from - sarah nixon. Will my donors actually open the initial email to even get to that step? It might be too tempting to delete any message from snoopy.com, particularly if there are 100 or so important work-related emails. Click here to view the animated "Just a note to say hi....(and THANK YOU for your very generous donation. Happiness is a cure for cancer.")

On the training front, after a 8 mile run this morning I added on another two hours of cross-country skiing at the Weston Ski Track (a.k.a Leo J. Martin Golf Course) where they groom both classic and ski-skate trails. Despite spending the last four February vacations in Lake Placid with my family and the Scandanavian blood that runs through my veins, the wonderful world of nordic skiing is a real challenge for me. Endurance is not an issue, it's my under developed sense of balance coupled with my lack of experience at winter sports as a child (let's just blame it on my parents!!). I much prefer trudging up a hill herring-bone style over the panic and sheer terror I experience on any type of decline. However, I am in heaven on a long, flat stretch when I can get a good glide and rhythm going.
And being outside on a beautiful winter day is the best!

I highly recommend getting out to the Weston Ski Track after we get a good dumping of fresh snow, particularly during the week when most adults are working and kids are in school. And for expert advice on cross-country skiing, go to DFMC veteran runners, Tom and Fran ,who both participated in the Birkebeiner (40k ski event) in Norway. Skol!!


Lisa Lunge wrote a wonderful picture book about the fascinating history of the Birkebeiner race. This should be a "must have " for all families of Norwegian descent.

1 comment:

sarah said...

My apologies...the Birkebeiner event from Rena to Lillehammer is 54 kilometers