Heartfelt email from Pablo

Pablo sent out this heartfelt email this morning after our epic night at Mr. Smiths:

Querida Familia,

I just wanted to take a minute to thank everyone who helped out with last night, whether it was spreading the word to friends and classmates, or helping sell raffle tickets, getting prizes for raffle tickets, and much more. Last night's fundraiser was a HUGE success. The General Manager said he's never seen a party like that at Mr. Smith's. The DJ agreed and said he's never seen people enjoying themselves and the place so full like last night. He even wanted me to join him tonight at another fundraiser in the city for Haiti to give shout outs and inspire those people. I am overwhelmed with emotions right now as I write this because of the love and support I felt last night and for the success of the campaign so far. Last night, we pulled in $3175 at the door and coupled with the $280 from the raffle, we raised $3455. Not bad for one night. I don't know the exact number, but with the donations we have already received, this might put us around the $5000 mark or very near. This is incredible. Great work everyone!

I'll be honest with you all since you have helped me with this campaign: last night probably saved my attempt. Quite frankly, I was starting to hit a low in my motivation and confidence. A nasty little cold has crept up on me and I was feeling sick and weak last night. On top of that, I was just exhausted from everything. I am in the midst of the most intense/important part of the training, and I am hurting and the sickness started wiping out the rest of my energy. Work has been extremely busy with many little projects. I even forgot for a moment that it was my birthday last week until my family called to wish me a happy birthday (seriously). With the injuries and setbacks with the shoulders, I was even questioning whether I would be able to pull off this feat. I was very nervous for the fundraiser, wondering if anyone would show up, then the rain came, and I thought that would deter many from showing, etc. The stress coupled with the physical toll that the challenge has presented started to really knock me back a bit. Endurance challenges are not new to me, my body can handle this; however, this is the first time that I do this while having a full time job (as opposed to only being a student). The training is seriously like a part time job on top of my already full time job that already feels like time and a half. I was hitting a low point and losing motivation, which was horrible timing because I am five weeks away from March 7th and need to be very highly motivated. But the love and support and seeing Mr. Smith's so crowded and people having a great time truly inspired me. Walking around, people I didn't even know where asking me if I was the "dribbling guy" and friends introduced me to their friends as the "guy who is dribbling the marathon" and people were very kind and had sincere words of encouragement.

This all started as a joke, with me saying I could easily break the record. Then I had a heartbreaking conversation with a highly qualified student (who I was going to write a letter of rec to Stanford for) who told me that she was not going to a four-year school because she could not afford to take the SAT II's and pay for the application fees. After taking out my credit card and paying for her, I emailed Christine looking for help on how we can make something happen and use this challenge as a quirky gimmick to get some attention. Little by little, we brought people along to compose our core team and we developed Upward Bounce. Originally, I thought we could raise a couple hundred or maybe $1000 and help fund the current seniors in SCP and get them to college. I had dreams of raising more, but tried to remain grounded and wanted to just at least help out a few students because I cannot stomach seeing these qualified students being turned down because they cannot afford the college application process. I just thought: "I just need to get them to college, that's it! They'll do the rest." But then with everyone's hard work, we are nearing the $5000 mark. We have had an incredible fundraiser. We have had some shout outs on radio stations. We are also on the verge of getting a sponsorship and an ad campaign in the local newspapers. I am passionate about what I do. I teach because I love it. Helping youth see the power of education and the love for the thirst of knowledge and growth for intellectual maturity is the most rewarding work that I have done. I don't mind putting my body through this challenge and putting in all this work, if it means that we can help even one student reach their dreams of college. Because of that, I am very thankful that you have helped us get to where we are.

I woke up this morning feeling so inspired, I was ready to hit my 16 mile run. I had to hold myself back in order to allow my body to rest a day and do it tomorrow instead. But I feel rejuvenated and inspired to continue to work on raising more money, raising awareness for equal educational opportunities, and to continue to get myself ready for this marathon. There is no doubt in my mind that I can break that record. 3:48:23 is the only thing I am thinking about right now. I will cross that finish line, even if I am crawling on my knees and pushing that ball with my nose. I am committed and focused on getting myself in the best possible position come March 7th. So thank you very much for your support. Let's keep pushing and doing what we are doing.

Much Love,
Pablo

As you can see, we've got tons of support and lots of momentum. Let's keep this up! I'm proud and grateful for everyone that is stepping up to the plate to do important work for our community.

Kev

Injury Updates

People keep asking about whether or not I get hurt doing this, since it is probably not a natural motion to run a marathon and dribble a basketball for so long. At first, I was not going to mention any injury, but after talking to a few people, I decided to share so that everyone gets a realistic view as to what happens and the risks when doing something like this. The preparation for the marathon has helped me decrease the normal amount of injuries and pains that one experiences in intense training like this. Every once in a while, I get a little pain or soreness (shin splints, sore muscle, tight muscle), but nothing too serious has occurred in my legs.

The dribbling was not causing any problems to my shoulders at first. But this was when I was dribbling on my sides and not alternating between hands. While this form was better for my shoulders, my body was twisted slightly and I used more energy. So, I experimented with different dribbling techniques on long runs. I found that the most "natural" motion that mimics my natural running motion was when I would actually cross-over every dribble. My running form was not altered much, so I was able to run faster without my upper body getting as tired. I went on a 10 mile run using this cross-over dribble, and it felt great. However, the next morning, I woke up and noticed my shoulders sticking out slightly (see picture). There was absolutely no pain, however, it was not normal. I got checked out and have attended physical therapy to help. Luckily, I caught it early on-- I have inflammation of the AC joints (yes, both shoulders). While it is not pretty, it is relatively pain free, only sore every once in a while.

Despite this little setback, I have adjusted my upper body workouts and am being careful. I took a break from dribbling and am slowly working it back into the running. While this form made me faster and was easier, I am probably going to have to rely on another form of dribbling to avoid further shoulder issues. I am closely monitoring my shoulders, however, I am still determined to continue with the challenge. With constant icing, physical therapy, and strengthening exercises thanks to the therapists and trainers, I am confident that I will still be ready to go on March 7th!

On this day...

...we are all observing MLK Jr's accomplishments and those all around the world that have fought for Civil Rights. King not only fought for equal rights for African-Americans, but for all citizens regardless of color.

It is his (along with the countless other Civil Rights leaders and participants) words who inspire me to keep working towards achieving equality for all. He is a big reason that I, along with my team of supporters on this campaign, are working hard to help support the students of Stanford College Prep reach their dreams of higher education. The best way to achieve equality in this society is to become educated. Let's keep Dr. King's dream alive and do what we can to support those around us to achieve their dreams, continue their education, and be advocates of human rights.

In the spirit of King, and all those that fought for our rights, I leave you with the inspirational words found on Civil Rights leader James Chaney's tombstone:

"There are those who are alive yet will never live.
There are those who are dead yet will live forever.
Great deeds inspire and encourage the living."

-The Upward Bounce team

How do you train for something like this?

Everyone keeps asking me what my workout plan is for this dribbling marathon. Later on, I will break down each segment of the workouts and give examples and pictures, but for now, I will give a general overview. I could just try to run with a basketball and see what happens, but then I might hurt myself and/or not run very fast. I am looking for the optimal performance, so I took a more holistic approach to this marathon.

The workout plan was developed with my good friend, Chris Gaines (check out Chris’ website: www.performancegaines.com). The training is very similar to the training that one does for regular marathons, but there are a few twists. I still need to get my body in shape and used to running a long distance, however, the major difference in this endeavor is the upper body. Dribbling a 7-9 pound basketball for 26.2 miles exhausts your upper body. The energy expenditure when running with the ball doubles. Runners always talk about hitting “the wall” around mile 18-20 in a marathon. When dribbling a basketball, that “wall” hits A LOT sooner (around mile 13-14). Usually when your legs tire, your upper body keeps you going, but in this case, the upper body is exhausted as well. So, Chris and I based the training around high intensity training. Basically, I am getting very tired very quickly so that I feel like I am hitting “the wall” early in the workout, and then practicing pushing through it. This helps me develop more stamina, but more importantly, helps me gain the mental strength to push through, which will essentially help me finish the race.

The training program is also based around preventing injury. There is extensive stretching (both dynamic and static) and foam rolling pre and post-workouts. The running includes a long run, speed/interval work (track), tempo runs, and resistance band training. I also cross-train twice a week (biking and swimming). I also work on coordination and balance (trying to dribble a ball when you are exhausted at mile 23, even for an NBA player, can be challenging). Finally, I spend a lot of time with resistance training (a little weight lifting) to strengthen the core, upper body, and legs. Including stretching, workouts, cool downs, and stretching again, I tend to workout around two hours a day (at least).

This was just a short introduction to the workouts and preparation for this race. It is important to know that when I began this training, I was already running and working out frequently, and have been training for this for a good amount of time. I have also done many endurance races before, including marathons and triathlons, so this is not the first time I do something like this. I do not recommend someone who has never run before or has done very little endurance training to just jump out and try something like this in such little time. You can do it, but you are more prone to injury. Basically, my training involves getting the heart rate up very quickly, tons of stretching and foam rolling, and lots of ICE!

If you have any questions or comments about the training, let us know.

How it all began…

To be honest, this whole thing started off as a joke.

I was helping the school in a trivia hunt last spring when a student needed help finding the answer for a question asking about the record for running up the Empire State Building. I told him to look at the Guinness Book of World Records. He comes back with the book and points out the picture of the record holder. Right next to the picture of that record was a picture of a guy holding a basketball and it said, “World Record holder for running a marathon while dribbling a basketball: 4 hours 30 minutes 29 seconds.” Another teacher saw it too and jokingly asked, “Can you beat that?” I replied, with, “Easily. Being a running point guard, ambidextrous when it comes to dribbling, and being a distance runner, I can break it.” We left it at that. Later that evening, the teacher came over to have dinner with my roommate and myself. At dinner, she brought up the record and we all joked around about me breaking the record. They dared me to sign up, so I got my laptop and signed up on the website in the middle of dinner. I then printed out the application forms and signed them and mailed them that night. We all thought it was still a joke because we figured they had thousands of record attempt requests, and would not get back to me.

Then, in the middle of summer, as I was traveling in Peru, I checked my email and there was a message from Guinness telling me that I was approved to attempt to break the record. I laughed and kept on with my trip. It was not until my second leg of my travels, while I was in South Africa with a friend that we got to talking about the approval. It was here that it hit me and I made the decision to actually go through with it. Through our talks, I decided that if I was going to put my body through so much pain, I might as well do it for a good cause.

When I arrived home from my vacation, I immediately called my good friend Chris Gaines, who is a personal trainer and strength and conditioning coach for Stanford Rugby, and explained my challenge. I wanted a few tips to help me in my training. When he heard I wanted to do it to raise money for a good cause, he was all in. We worked together and developed a precise and intense workout plan for this record attempt, looking at different components of training. After realizing I could do it, I contacted Christine Solari (director of Stanford College Prep) with an idea to raise money. After making sure I was not joking, we set up a meeting and talked about it further. Little by little, the training and campaign started developing. We picked up more team members for the campaign to help out, and now, we have officially developed “Upward Bounce.”

After we had already established Upward Bounce, I received word that the record was lowered to 3 hours 48 minutes 23 seconds. While making this more of a challenge, I still believe I can break it and we have continued to train hard to prepare even more for this attempt.

Student Costs

The reason I wanted to raise funds for Stanford College Prep is because we want to help students be able to afford the college application process. We tend to be so focused on finances once a student gets to college, that we forget how expensive it is to get to college. I have had too many conversations with students that began with them explaining that they are not applying to college because they cannot afford it. Because of the budget crisis at various university systems, fee and application waivers are disappearing or becoming more scarce. Students are being turned away for financial reasons before they even step foot in their first college class.

Let's imagine this is a typical high school senior who decides in the spring to enroll in a CSU:

4 CSU applications x $55 each = $220
4 UC applications x $60 each = $240
1 Stanford application x $90 = $90
1 Santa Clara University app x $55 = $55
Total cost of apps without fee waivers: $605

1 SAT test = $45
1 ACT test w/writing = $47
SAT II (3 subjects, reg fee @ $20, plus 2 subjects @ $9 ea. plus one language w/listening @ $20) = $58
Total cost of tests w/out fee waivers = $150

1 SAT prep book = $20
1 ACT prep book = $20
1 portable CD player (required for SAT II language w/listening) = $25
Total cost of test supplies = $65

Application fee for freshman year housing @ CSU = $55
Housing deposit @ CSU (which is due with the housing application, long before financial aid is available) = $1400*
Total cost to secure freshman year housing @ CSU = $1,455
*A representative in housing at SFSU said that this initial payment might go up this spring due to the state budget crisis

Total cost of senior year process for this student: $2,275

Students should not be turned away from pursuing their dreams of going to college because they cannot afford the application process. This is why Upward Bounce was created: to help students get to college because we know that once they are there, they will succeed.

Update on Record

Just got a message from Guiness World Records, that reads:

The current record for "Fastest marathon dribbling a basketball" is: The fastest marathon dribbling a basketball is 3 hr 48 min 23 sec and was achieved by Jerry Knox (United States) at the LA marathon.

The attempt was just confirmed and approved and the record was lowered by 42 minutes. We will continue to work and train and attempt to break this new mark.