Blair has a popular saying in his family, “Munhofens can do hard things.” Well, marathons are certainly hard.
Running one was a goal for him since college. His first attempt didn't go as planned. He was training for the Marine Corps Marathon in Washington, D.C., when he got injured late in his training and had to stop.
About 13 years later, he came back to it with a new reason, “I wanted to show my kids what it means to do a hard thing. After 18 weeks of training, I finished my first marathon, the Air Force Marathon in my adopted hometown of Dayton, Ohio. I ran my second marathon last year, the Detroit Free Press International Marathon.”
For his third time around, Blair wanted to do more than a hard thing, he wanted it to be a rewarding thing as well by running for a cause bigger than himself. That's why he's thrilled to be running in support of Project Sunshine.
A cause close to home
Blair and his wife have supported Project Sunshine for a number of years, thanks in large part to his brother-in-law, Taylor. As a Project Sunshine board member, Taylor has championed the organization for years. Taylor is also a phenomenal pediatric hospitalist, and Blair knows this firsthand, because Taylor is the family's on-call physician (whether he likes that is a different story).
Taylor has worked directly with pediatric patients and families who have benefited from Project Sunshine’s programming, and Blair finds his stories inspiring. For Blair, getting to be part of the Project Sunshine team for this marathon is truly an honor.
Sharing his "why"
Tell someone you're training for a marathon, and the next question is almost always, “…why?” Sometimes it’s simply a bucket-list item (as in his first marathon). Other times, it's setting a new health or fitness goal (aka, the reason behind his second). And “sometimes you might be crazy enough to just enjoy running really long distances.” (Jury is still out if Blair will ever get to that one!)
As for his reason this time, it’s Project Sunshine. Every time Blair tells someone why he's running, he feels a little more inspired, and he gets the chance to share the work Project Sunshine does to support kids and their families.
The hardest part: time
Without question, Blair's biggest challenge has been the sheer amount of time training takes. By the time he crosses the finish line in Central Park on Sunday, he will have run nearly 600 miles over the past four and a half months. Coincidentally, almost the exact distance between Dayton and New York City. He basically ran the distance from his home to the starting line!
He's been able to push through mainly because of the support of his family, especially his wife, Austin. She knows this marathon is about more than Blair crossing a finish line. “Austin might not be running the marathon, but she is absolutely my most important teammate.”
One more thing
A fun fact that might surprise you - Blair loves to cook. After months of training, we think he's earned a good homecooked meal or two.
As noted, Munhofens can (and will) do hard things, and with this team behind him, Blair is ready to prove it again. Cheer him on to the finish line!
You can help Blair bring joy to kids in the hospital by supporting his run for Project Sunshine: Support his run for Project Sunshine HERE!
