Addict to Ironman 1st Copy Sold

I want to thank Bob S. from South Carolina for being the first person to order the book Addict to Ironman. I donated a copy of the documentary ADDICT to him for his support. Bob is a fellow recovering addict who has found triathlon as one of his ways to stay sober. Congrats on your sobriety my friend and thanks for your support.

Todd

Duathlon Added

Hello everyone and hope your turkey day was enjoyable. Racing for Recovery is pleased to announce the addition of a du-athlon to our great Half Ironman and Sprint Triathlon on June 11, 2006. The distance will be a 5 mile run, 56 mile bike 13.1 mile run. As it stands this is the longest du-athlon in the country.

We have received many requests to add the du so we have done so. Information will be on the website soon.

I am off to New York for some pro-bon speaking gigs this weekend.

Enjoy your day.

Todd

Happy Thanksgiving

Hello everyone,

Just wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving. I know I am very thankful for everything I have in my life today including this great program Racing for Recovery.

Congrats to Jeff Weaver for completing Ironman Florida and thanks to everyone who donated to Racing for Recovery on his behalf.

We are implementing a new Saturday support group that will start on Jan 7, 2006. I will have details once we are confirmed with the location.

I am doing the Philadelphia triathlon and Half Ironman Mexico next year and I wan to thank the race directors for having me at their great events.

Enjoy your families and friends during the next few days.

Todd

I am Thankful

I just received some comments from professional triathlete Chris Legh that I will be using for the book Addict to Ironman. Chris is the gentleman on the gathered commercial who collapses as the Hawaii Ironman and then strives to overcome that obstacle to win another Ironman race. He is a tremendous athlete but more importantly, he is a great person who is willing to help others. I am honored to have his support for this project.

On another note I want to simply take this time to share once again what it is Racing for Recovery does. I am doing this because while I was facilitating a support group at the Zepf Center where I work as a case manager, a client stated that my name and Racing for Recovery were being talked about very negatively in other traditional support groups.

Just for the record, Racing for Recovery is not Alcoholics Anonymous, Narcotics Anonymous or Cocaine Anonymous. We do not follow their 12 steps of recovery. We are a program that provides positive alternatives to those who are currently battling addictions and also prevent substance abuse in adolescents. We are not supporting by self contributions and we do accept donations, sponsorships, sales from merchandise and entry fees to our events. We take this income and utilize it to pay for promotional materials and our 5k run/walk events.

On a personal note, I do get compensated for doing speaking engagements. I also do pro bono speaking engagements and have done so throughout the country and will be doing 3 more pro bono gigs in New York on Dec 2. I do NOT take income from sales of the documentary ADDICT, race entry fees or sales of any merchandise. I have also donated the signing bonus for the upcoming book Addict to Ironman back to this worthy program. I do not discuss my personal financial situation publicly but I will say this, I have sacrificed everything I have financially to make this program be what it is today. I do not need sympathy for this act as I did it because I believe in what our mission is and want to see us continue helping others. When the question arises why do you take money for doing speaking engagements, I answer by stating this is how I am compensated for being the Executive Director of Racing for Recovery and the service I am providing is of value and I should be compensated for it. I am thinking to myself "do other people do their jobs for free"?

One of the things traditional support groups state in their literature is "do not judge without prior investigation" but yet some of their members want to do that to our program.

I am confident in who I am and what I am trying to do with this program. I am thankful for this information being shared with me because it gave me the chance to inform them of exactly what it is Racing for Recovery does.

I know myself or Racing for Recovery is not going to please everyone and that is ok. I just want to inform everyone on exactly what it is we do as a program.

Thanks for letting me share.

Todd

Pre Sale Book and Other R4R Stuff

Hello everyone hope all is well. Sorry I have not had an entry lately.

Just returned from speaking at for the Ohio State Supreme Court in Columbus, Ohio regarding other alternatives to recovery. I was honored to be a part of this program and to share our mission. Thanks to Jeff Streeter who always does a great job with the technical aspects of my presentation.

Ok here is some book news. We have submitted the final project to the publisher and have the release date of April 19, 2006 nationally. I have been asked by many people if they can pre-order the book so here is what we are going to do. We will have pre-sale orders available by early next week on the website. They will be $14.00 and $5.00 shipping. I will have my advanced copies in March and will get the pre-orders out right away so you will not have to wait until April to obtain your copy. Thanks to everyone who has suggested we do the pre-sale offer.

I also received word yesterday, I will be doing the Half Ironman Baja (Mexico)on May 21, 2006. They would like me to do some speaking engagements and also book promotional things while I am there. Thank you to Mario for having me participate in your great event.

The national radio show I was scheduled to do on November 5, has been moved to Dec 3 due to technical difficulties the station had. Sorry for any incovenience on this and more info is on the calendar section for this interview.

Thanks to Karone Barone from the Lynbrook New York newspaper who covered my upcoming speaking appearance in the Lynbrook school system on Dec 2. Also thanks to Kathy H for arranging my appearance their.

Registrations are coming in for the 2nd Annual Racing for Recovery Half Ironman on June 11, 2006. We need volunteers and sponsors for this as well.

Ok have to cut this short and be a dad as my son Mason is crying.

With Sobriety Anything is Possible.

Todd

Half Ironman and Book News

Hello everyone and hope you all are well.

We have added the final details regarding the 2nd Annual Racing for Recovery Half Ironman on June 11, 2006 to the website. Feel free to browse the new information and register for the event as well. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

I want to offer a special thank to our race management company 3D Racing. The have provided their services for our last 2 events at no charge because they believe in this organization. Without them we would not have had the Half Ironman or the 4th Annual 5k run/walk. Thanks Kenny and Ann Marie for your support.

Just got word from my publisher that the book Racing for Recovery Addict to Ironman will be released nationally and to some parts of Canada on April 19, 2006. Racing for Recovery will have a book release along with community awareness program on substance abuse on April 22 (tentatively). We are looking at having an evening of food, information on substance abuse and recovery along with other activities as well. We want to inform the community that substance abuse is prevalent in our society and offer possible solutions to the problem as well. If you have suggestions on how to make this evening a great success please let us know.

Thanks to Garrett who ordered ADDICT from Tokyo, Japan recently. This is the first DVD that was sold in that country and I look forward to sharing Racing for Recovery with everyone in Japan.

We are beginning to create promotional literature for 2006 so if you are interested in sponsoring this worthy program, please contact us so we can add your company to our materials.

2006 is going to be a great year and I thank you all for your support.

Enjoy the day.

Todd