In 2019 Jen convinced the entire Blackstock family to travel to Disney World in Florida with her in January 2020 so she could run the RunDisney Marathon with them along to cheer her on. It was one of the best weeks we've ever had as a family (and at the time we didn't know it, but was the last time we would all be there together in our favorite 'second home' of Disney World).

According to Jen, seeing Steph and her mom along Main Street before the castle was incredible, but seeing the whole family hours later- Dad and Sam included- in our favorite spot in Epcot in the final mile was one of the best memories of her life. 

The day after running the marathon in sweltering heat, Jen could see the light sparked in Steph's eyes at doing a race on her own, and a deal was made- if Steph ran a race at Disney World with Jen, the whole family would come again to support us.

We tried for the 2021 races with Steph signed up through Scott Carter Foundation, but alas the races were cancelled. Both of us ran the Princess Half Marathon Virtually- Jen on her own in California, and Steph in Maryland with our parents there to cheer her on. But it wasn't quite the same as being at a live race together.

So when the 2022 races were announced we knew we had to do it! Years ago Jen did many races through Team in Training and was itching to add the element of fundraising this time around as it always brought so much joy to run while raising money for medical research and families that needed the support.

With the support and encouragement of our parents we signed up through Scott Carter in July and started to train. Unfortunately we both had to hit pause in our training in August when our dad- Paul Blackstock- suddenly had a heart attack.

We both rushed to New Jersey from California and Maryland to be with him, but after an intense 6 days in the ICU and a fierce fight, we said our final good-byes to our dad, our rock & our Disney World guide on August 18, 2021.

Paul led a life committed to service- from founding his own charity & foundations, to being a Mason & Rotarian, to an honorary board member to many organizations to supporting veterans to simply being an amazing mentor to so many. 

He loved that we were planning to fundraise for Scott Carter Foundation and after much discussion, we decided to still train hard & run our races in January in his honor!

Jen will be running in the Dopey Challenge starting January 6, 2022 which covers 4 Days in a row and 48.6 miles!

Steph will be running the Half Marathon on January 8, 2022 with Jen by her side for the 13.1 miles!

We learned a lot about navigating the medical system in those 6 days at the hospital with our dad, and can not even begin to imagine what it must be like to navigate doctors and hospitals for months or sometimes years on end with a child or other loved one battling for their life. 

To support a charity that helps children in their battle with cancer feels like the perfect way to honor our dad, and we hope you will join us by supporting us.