In 490 B.C at The Battle of Marathon, Phidippides was called upon to run to Athens (26.2 miles away) to carry the news of the Athenian victory and the warning about approaching Persian ships. Pushing himself past normal limits of human endurance, the reached Athens in perhaps 3 hours, delivered his message and then died shortly thereafter from exhaustion. In 2005, I am training for the Dublin Marathon, which will take place on October 31st. I will be running the same distance of 26.2 miles but instead carrying the message of the fight against HIV/AIDS.

When I first decided that I was going to run this marathon I thought of my friends and members of my community who live with HIV/AIDS everyday. I also thought of people close to my family and those who I have never met who have struggled with the disease. For me this is the way that I have chosen to help a cause that demands attention from everyone in the world.

From April until October, I'll be logging nearly 500 miles in this six-month training program put on by the National AIDS Marathon. More than 20 years have passed since the first case of AIDS was reported and still the epidemic rages on. Regrettably, AIDS is now the leading cause of death for people age 15 to 59 worldwide. 20 million people have already died and 38 million others are living with HIV/AIDS. In the United States, 950,000 people are living with HIV, and thousands more become infected each year. By supporting targeted prevention campaigns and AIDS services, we can help keep people safe and alive until there's a cure.

This is such a worthy cause, and I would like to ask for your support. I have made a personal commitment to raise at least $3,700 by Friday, July 29, 2005 - and I hope to raise even more. Any contribution you can make would mean a great deal to me. Contributions are tax-deductible and will make a huge difference in the lives of thousands of people living with AIDS.

Please reply to this email with any questions and please forward this page to your friends and family!

Thanks for your generous support.

Sincerely,
Andrew Warren