Dear family and friends,

As many of you know, I will be running my first marathon this fall. I am participating in the ING New York City Marathon on Sunday November 4th. At 6’5”, I am not exactly built as a distance runner, but I am going to give this a shot! Although hard to believe, I was lucky enough to gain entrance to the race through the lottery. However, I have decided to dedicate my run to a cause that is very near to my heart.

This past June, my wife Annie lost her youngest cousin, Andrew Applegate, to suicide. Andrew was 17 years old and suffered from depression. I am running to raise money for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, in Andrew’s honor. The money raised will go directly to a memorial fund in Andrew’s name.

Andrew’s death sadly brought this crisis into the center of our lives. Though we were familiar with depression, we never thought of it as a terminal illness. Teen depression and suicide is on the rise. More kids between the ages of 15-24 die from suicide than cancer. Suicide is the 3rd highest cause of death behind car accidents and homicide. Teen suicide has risen 6% per year in the last few years. 19.3% of high school teens have seriously considered suicide and 14.5% have made actual plans. Some studies show that 9% of teens have attempted suicide. For every death, 10 others have tried. Finally, 90% of teen suicide victims suffered from depression. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention is at the forefront of research, education and prevention initiatives designed to reduce loss of life from suicide. With more than 36,000 lives lost each year in the U.S. and over one million worldwide, the importance of AFSP's mission has never been greater, nor our work more urgent.

While I know that 26.2 miles will be a tremendous challenge, I will be driven by the motivation to raise awareness about suicide so that hopefully fewer families will have to endure the tragic loss that the Applegates suffered in losing their son Andrew.

Thank you for all of your encouragement and support.

Rob