I'm not a Scammer Anymore

" Don't let what you cannot do, interfere with what you can do."- John  Wooden

I posted the on-line version of my article by Journal Sentinel reporter Tom Held on by cubicle bulletin board.  Randy the guy that called me a scammer  calls it my " I love me" board.  I used to keep my finisher medals and numbers there until I moved them to my home office.  Now the only thing on the board are the article and the paper with the Boston Marathon date.

So Randy was walking by my cubicle and the article caught his eye. So he stopped to read it.  I pointed out he was the one the reported discussed calling me a scammer.  Called me a scammer twice actually.

Randy read it and said he doesn't think I'm a scammer anymore, that he has now been educated.  He even said he was going to make a donation.

Randy continued to read the article and noticed my goal time for Boston was 4:41.  He asked me "Can't you run faster than that."  That's only a 10:00 mile. I told him that I would race him and though he might be faster I could outlast him

I had to explain that no, I'm running as fast as I can. That fast as I can it getting slower pretty quickly.
So I'm not a scammer anymore, maybe just a slacker for only running 26.2 miles at a 10 min pace.

It shows the power of the media.  A newspaper article and a TV interview and he's educated.
I hope the media exposure has the same effect many times over.

Well I don't have control over over the effect of the media  what  anyone else thinks. I let them have their opinion and don't worry about it. It's really freeing not to be the slave of anyone else's opinion. I do what I think is right and let all the rest go.  I'm not going to get tied in knots because thinks I'm a scammer or a slacker or even if they think some kind of hero. A feel stories or TV interviews does not mean I am anything special.

Well I can't run the marathon pace I used to run when I could run a 4 hour marathon.  It's hard to watch others my age run the times I used to be able to run.  I have to concentrate not what I have lost to CMT, but what I still have and what I can still do.

God willing at this time next week I will be celebrating a Boston finish. So I may not be able to finish in four hours anymore, just finishing will have to be enough.

Chris Wodke
Founder & Manager Team CMT
www.run4cmt.com

Team CMT is a group of athletes and supporters working to raise awareness and to find a cure for CMT. We have almost 100 members in 17 states. If you wish to join us visit our web site.

CMT or Charcot-Marie-Tooth is the most commonly inherited peripheral neuropathy. It affects over 155,000 Americans (as many as MS).  It is a disease of the nerves that control the muscles. It is slowly progressive, causing loss of normal function and or sensation in the lower legs/feet and arms/hands.

Symptoms include; muscle wasting in the lower legs and feet leading to foot drop, poor balance and gait problems Atrophy in the hands causes difficulty with manual dexterity.

Structural foot deformities such as high arches and hammer toes are common.

Poor tolerance for cool or cold temperatures and many people have chronically cold hands and feet.

Additional symptoms may include fatigue, sleep apnea, breathing difficulties and hearing loss.

Running, triathlons, impaired athlete, paratriathlon, USAT, running and CMT