Planning the event

Planning....planning....planning

Besides training for this run, my focus has been on planning this event. I have been fortunate that my close friends and family have stepped up and offered to help in many ways.

My cousin Giselle has offered to design the media we will use to propagate the awareness of thesecondopinion and this trail run.

My friends Jen Liebhaber, Greg Smiley & Habib Lichaa are the first to step up as ambassadors to get the word out and help raise funds for this organization.

My wife Gina has also taken on an ambassador role as well as coordinating the places we will be staying at during the 4 day journey. All my ideas go through her. She vets them and alters them for the best.

In addition, several of my close friends have reached out to walk/run one of the legs of this event:
Reid Liebhaber, Steven Coulter, Susan Coulter, Tom Halen, & Gavin Fong. I can't tell you how much this means to me and how far this will go in spreading the word.

I have gotten great support from the executive director and a board member of thesecondopinion ( http://thesecondopinion.org/) , Michael Stoll & Tom Halen. We are working on getting the word out via their publicist as well as the best way to track our awareness & fund raising effort.

In addition, my long time friend, Greg Smiley has volunteered to run this entire journey with me. Like me, he lost his father, Norman Smiley, to Cancer two months prior to my father's passing. This run will memorialize more than just my father, but Norman and all of your family and friends you have lost to Cancer.

We can help those that are currently diagnosed with Cancer. Let them know about thesecondopinion.

http://thesecondopinion.org/

Michael Elie Saddik

Have decided to run in memory of my dad, Michael Elie Saddik. Instead of doing the traditional, supported marathon, I have decided to embark on an unsupported 4 day trail run starting in Sausalito, going through Muir Beach to Olema via Mt. Tam and eventually making it to Inverness in a 42 mile adventure that will ascend over 8000' in elevation.

One of the most important things my father conveyed to me throughout my life with him, was the importance of eating healthy and getting regular exercise. His request of me, prior to his passing was for me to take care of my health.

I'm currently looking to help those that helped my father during his struggle with Cancer. One organization that helped my father was The Second Opinion located in San Francisco. They are a non-profit organization that provides second opinions to Cancer patients from a panel of doctors with multiple disciplines instead of one doctor with a single discipline. It is an invaluable resource that I want to make sure gets known to others.

The following blog entries will attempt to chronicle my journey to the eventual 4 day trail run in October, 2011.