The Elixir Fund is honored that Danny Girton, Jr. has decided to run his first marathon as a fundraiser for the Elixir Fund. On May 21, 2016 Danny will take on the Jersey Shore Marathon. Read on to learn more about Danny and why he is running. You can support his efforts by visiting his crowdrise page.

Health and wellness has always been in my DNA and soul. I earned a second degree blackbelt a few years after finishing elementary school, medaled in high school track and cross country, and in college I studied Jiu Jitsu and worked triple shifts at my school’s gym to help pay my tuition. After graduation, I directed my athletic passion toward social good, by swimming across the Hudson River to raise money for a community pool, and competing in cross-county “century” bicycle tours and endurance events like the “Rocky” half-marathon in Philadelphia.

Over the past two decades, I’ve always found pride, challenge and opportunities through a “health and wellness” lifestyle, and now I’m grateful and excited for an unexpected chance to add more purpose to this personal passion. For a while, I’ve been engrossed with the idea of teaching cancer survivors (a number of people close to me have been affected by it) the joys of skillful running, to help them physically, mentally and spiritually “get on their feet”. Just after the New Year began, I was introduced to Meg McQuarrie, and she told me about her brother, Kevin, who inspired creation of The Elixir Fund, a non-profit organization Meg founded to improve the comfort and support of cancer patients and their caregivers. Kevin’s “unique and life-affirming” personal philosophy on managing cancer, preserved in light-hearted, loving and peaceful memories, sounded very courageous, powerfully positive and like something really special of which I wanted to be a part. The Elixir Fund represents Kevin and his legacy, and on May 1, 2016, I will be proud to run the New Jersey Marathon to raise money for the organization.

Your donation will help Kevin’s sister continue providing cancer patients and their caregivers a “break from cancer”, through emotional support and services like nutritious meals, reliable transportation, and complementary therapies including yoga, massage, and meditation, that will lighten treatment side effects and “ease the cancer journey”. Thank you for considering why I want to help Meg and The Elixir Fund, and for making time to learn about Kevin