Dan

All,

Dan passed away from complications in late June. I will miss him as I'm sure many others will as well. Working on getting ok with this.

BC

Dan

From: Bill Cotton [mailto:William.Cotton@darrigo.com] Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 8:27 AMTo: auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.netSubject: RE: vote for best trail running town!

Shit! I’m so sorry to hear that. I was hoping for better news as I’m sure you were as well. I want to encourage you to hang in and keep up the fight. I just know you can do it and I will keep up the good thoughts and positive energy. At the risk of sounding redundant, I am an hour and a half south of you and am willing to lend a hand if you need me for anything. Seriously.

Dan, I know we were more acquaintances than close friends prior to your recent challenges but thruthfully you are one of just a few ultra running folks that always took the time to chat with me and catch up every time we crossed paths. You’re way more involved in the ultra community than me and know more people so the time you spent with me always made me feel special. So thanks for that. Sorry for the cheese – just wanted you to know the truth.

I will not be heading up for the training run. Too much family stuff going on right now keeping me close to home. More real life than running right now for me. Planning on a triumphant return soon.

Bill
From: auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.net [mailto:auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 7:15 AMTo: Bill CottonSubject: RE: vote for best trail running town!

Hi Bill, good to hear from you.

We’ve had a reversal of fortune. The cancer cells are back and now I am being pulled out of the bone marrow program to undergo a new round of chemo. The fear is that now it’s harder to fight since I can’t use the old regimen. It’s very aggressive and the odds are longer for a cure. This just sucks since we were doing so well and I was counting down the days to go home. More than likely we will stay here at Stanford for the new treatment, but indefinitely, no longer targeting mid to late June for a return home. All options are open and we’ll just hope for the best.

Sorry it’s not good news to share. I do appreciate you asking.

Hope all is well with you. Going to Auburn for the training runs this weekend?

Dan

From: Bill Cotton [mailto:William.Cotton@darrigo.com] Sent: Friday, May 22, 2009 6:15 AMTo: auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.netSubject: RE: vote for best trail running town!

Hi Dan,

Update me please. How are you feeling?

Bill

An Update on my friend Dan Moores

Email from Dan on 3/19. Now in the middle of his bone marrow transplant.

Dan,

Just checking in to say hello and see how things are going. I hope all is going according to plan for you. Let me know when you get a minute. By the way, I have been receiving calls from all the friends that supported the Run A Mile For Dan saying that you sent personal thank you notes to them. Classy move bro. They all are kinda blown away by it.

Bill

Hi Bill,

Thanks for wearing the shirt! I hope the race went well for you. Wish I could have been there. Down at Stanford now waiting to recover from the bone marrow transplant. What a pain, I have more wires and tubes coming out of me than I can count. Was the least I could do to send out the notes, they deserved it. Can't sit here too long before I get sleepy, so I can only write a little bit. Strange existence now.Take care man, thanks again for everything.Dan

The Results

Hi RAMFD’rs

If you are receiving this email it’s because you are one of the generous people that made a donation to the Run A Mile For Dan fundraiser. I want to say thank you very much for stepping up to help a friend in need. I have to confess that I underestimated your generosity. When deciding to do something for Dan, I thought that if I could get everyone in, $500 would be in the range of possibilities. With our current economy I wasn’t sure but I thought it could be done. It turns out we more than doubled that figure. Our total contribution was $1,050.00 and all was sent in on Monday with a couple follow up checks being sent in later today.

I have attached an email received from Dan today to bring you up to speed on his progress. I feel like I need to tell you that I feel blown away by your willingness to help someone you don’t even know just because you recognized he needed help. It’s humbling. It just is.

Thank you,

Bill

Dan,

There you are! Great to hear from you. Bald head? Nice. Actually, a couple years ago I used to clipper mine to the nub and loved it. However, my appearance scared the crap out of some folks and my wife didn’t dig it too much either. Given our physical similarities, I’m guessing your attracting reactions in kind. Talk about simplicity though.

It was a group effort. Happy to help – it’s the least we could do. I’m fortunate to have compassionate friends that want to step up. Great people, all of them. Glad you’re home. Bill

From: auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.net [mailto:auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.net] Sent: Friday, January 16, 2009 9:37 AMTo: Bill CottonSubject: RE: Checking on you

Hey man, were you in town?? Sorry I missed you, I was sent home on Friday and have been gearing up for the next treatment, which starts middle of next week. And where did all those funds come from?? Bill, I can’t thank you enough. Your kindness and generosity are beyond what anyone could hope for. Thank you very much. This will go a long way when that final bill comes in, and it’s coming. The sooner I’m done with this the sooner I can get on with my life.

The fundraiser in general was incredible, I just never would have imagined such a response. First of all I didn’t realize I knew so many people, and then underestimated how close this running community really is. Folks I don’t even know contributing! What do you say? Day after day my wife and I are in amazement from all this. So many people came together to make this happen, I can only hope I get the opportunity to pay it forward and be there for someone else one day.

Thanks again Bill, you have gone above and beyond my friend. Unless you’ve shaved your head, I doubt anyone would think we look alike now!

Take care,
Dan

From: Bill Cotton [mailto:William.Cotton@darrigo.com] Sent: Tuesday, January 13, 2009 10:34 AMTo: auburnrunningco@sbcglobal.netSubject: Checking on you

Dan,

Just sending off an email here to say hello and see how you’re doing. I have to tell you that the Run A Mile For Dan event was really something awesome to be a part of. You have a huge amount of people that are really pulling for you bro so just do your thing while you’re stuck there, stay positive, patient and I know all will work out fine.

Take care Dan.

Bill

Run A Mile For Dan (postscript)

Dan's a friend of mine.

Not the type of friend I call or see everyday or have over for holidays or my daughters birthday party but a good friend just the same. Truth is, I'm not sure he knows my daughters names - still, a good friend. But isn't that the way it is with many of the friends we have in ultra running? We run into each other at different events or share a few miles together during a race and then we part ways, hoping to remember each others names and looking forward to the time when our paths cross again sometime in the future. Well, that's the way it is for me anyway. I have to say though that during those times when our paths do cross, I feel a closeness to my ultra running friends that I have found difficult to duplicate with my friends and acquaintances of the non running variety. We may only see each other once or twice a year but to me we are still very close...family.

In ultras, I believe all the meaningless stuff that makes up our day to day lives is chipped away and we share with each other in a more meaningful way...our true selves..the best and sometimes the worst (but mostly the best). We get the opportunity to see each other for what we are. I think that's what resonates with me more than anything else. That is what makes running ultras special to me. Dan and a few others are that to me. Yep, Dan is definitely a friend of mine.

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

The "Run A Mile For Dan" fundraiser was held last Saturday at the Placer High School track. The purpose of the event was to raise money to help pay the medical expenses not covered under Dan's insurance. Dan Moores is the proprietor of the Auburn Running Company and is currently in the hospital undergoing treatment for leukemia. Dan is a friend and a great guy so when I received an email from my friend Glenn asking what I knew about Dans health, I knew something was up and sent Dan a short email to check in. Needless to say, when Dan wrote back I was surprised and saddened to hear of his challenge. Matt Keyes of ARC contacted me and got the ball rolling on the fundraiser. Once the date was set, I cleared the calendar, called/emailed everyone I knew who owed me a favor and started the fundraising machine. Believe me, I have bought every gift wrap/cookie dough/tri tip bbq ticket my friends have ever thrown on my desk so now it was their turn to reciprocate. With Greg Soderlund and Tim Tweitmeier helping with the organization and handling the event day details at the track, Saturday was a done deal. And I need to mention that the pumpkin ginger soup being served at the finish line was beyond description. I need to figure out a way to carry some of that with me on long runs...but I digress.

For those of you not familiar with Auburn, CA or the Sierra Nevada foothills, the track at Placer High is hallowed ground in that each June it serves as the finish for the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run. On January 3rd, about 400 people got up early on a very cold Saturday morning to be a part of this worthy event. Some ran a lap and then headed off for Robie Point and the Western States Trail. Others, like me, were raising donations by the mile and were bound to the track for purposes of accuracy. It was a wonderfully heartfelt event with everyone from kids and grandparents to newbies and ultra legends taking the track with one single purpose..helping out a friend. The mission was to run as many laps as possible from 8:00am to noon. After my dnf in 2006, it was fun to visualize crossing the WS100 finish line 100 times.

With all the well wishers and positive energy on the track Saturday morning, I feel very good about Dan's chances for recovery. Actually, I have never doubted Dan's chances for recovery. The moment I heard of his condition, I just had an overwhelminly certain feeling that I would see Dan back out on the trails again. Hopefully it will be soon.

Nice work in getting this awesome fundraiser organized Matt. You're a good man and a good friend as well.

Happy New Year everybody. BBB

Run A Mile For Dan

Right after Thanksgiving, my friend Dan Moores of the Auburn Running Company in Auburn CA was diagnosed with leukemia. Quite a shock to say the least. How this disease picks its targets is beyond me. Dan, besides being a wonderfully generous person, is an accomplished ultra runner. I just cant say enough about Dan and how much I appreciate having people like him in my life. As an example, I am not what you would consider a known figure in the world of ultra marathons - just the opposite actually. However, every time Dan and I cross paths he always goes out of his way to say hello and see how I'm doing. Whit Rambach is like this too. These guys don't need to know me from Adam but always say hi when they see me. As my Grandpa used to say "They've got a spot by my campfire for life".

Dan and I have exchanged emails over the past few weeks as he bides his time in the hospital waiting to hear the results of the chemo therapy treatments.

**UPDATE - as I write this blog, Dan emailed me with the news that his hospital stay has been extended another month - more chemo slated. Damn.**

Anyway, his coworker Matt Keyes has organized a fundraiser scheduled for January 3rd and I am going to do everything I can to generate some funds for Dan's cause.

Click on RUN A MILE FOR DAN for all of the event information. I hope to see everyone at the Placer High School track on January 3rd at 8:00 am!