March Madness Bracket Challenge

Every year I host the "Bracks on Bracks on Bracks" March Madness Blogger Bracket Challenge, but this year we are going to switch things up a bit. Instead of hosting it myself this year, I'm going to play in my friend Jess' bracket challenge.

It's for a GREAT cause, so I hope you'll come play with us! Jess is taking over the blog today to tell you a little more about it!

Sign up for this year's March Madness Bracket Challenge HERE

Hi everyone! I blog over at Jess Runs Atlanta. I’m an avid runner and am always chasing my next big goal. To date, I’ve run 10 half marathons and 3 full marathons. You’re probably wondering how Sarah knows a marathoner, because she only runs for pizza, right? Sarah and I met back in 2007 waiting tables. In preparation for this post, I tried to find a photo of us together, but came up short. Apparently taking selfies while in the server station wasn’t a thing back in 2007 since we didn’t have smartphones yet. No Insta…we barely even had Facebook…what a time to be alive!

Sarah has graciously agreed to let me take over her blog today to share something that I think you all will LOVE!  I tried to get creative with in my proposal to her of what I could offer her in return, including some sort of “I’ll even support the Dallas Cowboys” type of favor.  In the end though, Sarah said she would never do that to another fan.  Let’s all be honest, she just was happy to not have to come up with a content idea!

I’m here to talk about one of my favorite times of the year: MARCH MADNESS!

Every year, I fill out a bajillion brackets…and every year, I feel like I should have just taken a heap of cash, thrown it in the fireplace and watched it burn.  Yet I keep on coming back again and again, filled with hope that this will be my year.  I just love following the teams and watching the Cinderella stories unfold.  I went to VCU for undergrad and am really hoping for another deep run by my Rams.  I tend to cheer for the underdogs and love a good upset. 

I have decided to combine my love of the NCAA Tournament with a project I’m working on between now and November. I’m training to run the NYC Marathon on November 5, and am on a mission to raise $10,000 for cancer research for Fred’s Team. Fred’s Team’s slogan is “Imagine a World Without Cancer”, and I really hope we all see that day. We all know someone who has been impacted by cancer either directly or indirectly. I have been running marathons for a couple of years now, and I really wanted to do something with my running this year that was about something bigger than myself. This is my way of making a difference.

Source credit fred’s team facebook page

As part of my fundraising, I am hosting a 50/50 bracket for March Madness. This means that when your bracket is busted after the first round, at least you can sleep a little easier knowing you have supported a good cause.

I’d love for all of you to join in the fun! The more we have join, the higher the fundraising donation and the pool. You can visit the Yahoo bracket here for all the deets.

If you’d like to contribute to my efforts but don’t want to join the bracket, no worries! You can click here to make a donation. This month, for every donation of at least $26.20 ($1 for each mile I will run on November 5), I will hand crochet a cap to donate to a local cancer patient.

Thanks Sarah for letting me stop by, and thank you all for joining in my fundraising and March Madness!

I’ll end this with a bunch of questions for you to answer in the comments.

Who are you hoping goes all the way this year? Have you ever done any fundraising for charity? Any fundraising ideas for me? I still think there may be a fundraising idea tied to the whole “I’ll support The Cowboys/Your Team” type of commitment….

Jess