Jason Eager's Fundraising Page

Perched on my Piano bench, where I lace up my shoes for each training run.

A runners meditation? Or just the sun in my eyes?

Unfortunately, I must obey all posted speed limits while training.

Hill training to prepare for the steep incline to the Harbour Bridge.

You guys are Awesome! I'm raising the fundraising bar a little more (from $500 goal to $750 goal), but I've already raised more money than I was expecting when I first started this page last week. Thank you very much!

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I'm running the full marathon up in Auckland, and I'm asking for your help so that all the work I've done preparing for this race isn't just for my benefit.

This will be my first attempt at the full marathon (42.2 KMs or 26.2 miles). I ran my first half marathon (21.1 KMs or 13.1 miles) in Christchurch this June in about 2 hours 15 minutes. And before I trained for the half, I hadn't run since being on a cross country team in High School.

It's been a hard 4 months training (many more miles and more time on the road compared to my training for the half) but it's been worth it. I definitely feel that my training has prepared me for this challenge.

I admit that I'm getting into fundraising a bit late, but I've had my share of injury concerns during my training, and there have been times I've been concerned that I'd be one of the many people who start training for the marathon but never get to the starting line because of injury. But since I've made it through the hardest part of my training (3 hour 15 minute long runs and some steep hill runs) without any apparent ill effects (that I haven't dealt with one way or another thanks to the good people at SportsMed), those worries have passed. (Now that I've typed this, I'll probably have a piano fall on my head next time I step outside).

For my family and workmates in the USA, you can take advantage of the strong USA dollar. To get an idea of the current currency conversion rates from USD to NZD, go to the universal currency converter .I'm sure that you'd agree that heart disease is a global problem, and any discoveries made in New Zealand will soon benefit the rest of the world. (they always have in the past :-) (Here are some examples.)

Here's some information from the New Zealand Heart Foundation about Heart Disease, and how the donation process works:

Each day 16 New Zealanders die as a result of coronary heart disease. That’s one person every 90 minutes. And many of these deaths are premature and preventable.

Cardiovascular disease (heart, stroke & blood vessel disease) is the single leading cause of death in New Zealand. It causes 40 percent of all deaths annually in our country - making it more deadly than all forms of cancer.

The nature of who is affected by it is changing. New research shows that young adults in their 20s and 30s are being admitted to hospital for heart attacks than ever before, and that this age group is dying at a faster rate than people of the same age in previous generations. Much of this change is due to unhealthy lifestyles - poor eating habits, lack of physical activity and being a smoker.

But the good news is that many risk factors for heart disease are preventable, if people make healthy lifestyle choices.

So, help me as I join the race to beat heart disease.

I’ve signed up as a Heart Racer to raise money to support The National Heart Foundation of New Zealand. By donating through my webpage you will be helping the Heart Foundation continue its vital work in research, cardiac rehabilitation, education programmes and resources.

I’ll do all the hard work (train for and complete the event), but I really need you to make a difference to the hearts of New Zealanders.

So, please could you sponsor me?

Select the "Make a donation" button below. It’s simple, fast and totally secure and the money goes directly to the Heart Foundation’s bank account.

If you live in New Zealand your donation is tax deductible and a receipt will be issued.

So please help me today! And pass it on to everyone you know!

Many thanks for your support.