Seriously, I suck at keeping this fundraising page up to date.

NYC Half came and went, as did the Quicksilver 25k, and countless training runs, including 19 miles of the famous Western States Endurance 100 Mile run. We were fortunate enough to get a taste of the course that eats runners up, and let me tell you, it has teeth for days.

I have dodged mice, lizards, and various other trail creatures, I've fallen more than I'd like to admit, and bruised body parts I didn't know existed. I have iced sore muscles, learned how to tape body parts (most notably my knee), ran through grass face high which caused a less than ideal asthma attack, and even saw a dude fall at Western States down a mountain (he’s fine).

All of this, and I’m still running?

Heck yes!

We run to raise money to help fund blood cancer research, so while I’m begrudgingly climbing a mountain, someone is suffering the side effects of a chemo treatment, so I try to keep that in mind while I’m cursing my muscles and these endless mountains.

I’ve also decided to run the Skyline 50k this time around, rather than the Headlands, and save a Headlands 50k for the North Face Endurance Challenge in December. As a novice ultra runner I kind of feel like a 50k is a 50k (read: crazy), but I’m sure after attempting to complete two of these things before 2013 will have me singing a different tune by January of next year.

So, as I near the end of my first ultra journey, will you help me reach my fundraising goal?

My awesome teammate, May, has a great breakdown of where your donation goes-

- $1000 supports one week’s salary for a medical researcher at UCSF, Stanford, or Berkeley who may discover key information to developing curative treatments for blood cancers.

- $500 allows 10 patients to log on to a webcast and hear the latest information in treatment for their disease.

- $200 funds one Family Support Group meeting of 5–25 participants (the Greater San Francisco Bay Area chapter hosts eight monthly support groups).

- $150 allows five patients to make a First Connection with a trained peer volunteer.

- $100 provides three patients access to an information teleconference.

- $75 is the average cost of tissue typing to become a bone marrow donor.

- $50 is the cost of a CT scan.

- $40 is the cost of sending a comprehensive packet of information for children with cancer.

- $35 pays for transportation expenses for a patient living in Northern California’s most rural areas to treatment at a comprehensive cancer center.

- $25 covers a single prescription co-payment.

- $5 is the cost of sending a newly diagnosed patient information about their disease and how to get support.

Figured I should show you the results of my falls.

First official fall of the ultra season for me. First official run with the ulra team too. Clearly I made a great impression.

The day after the fall.

This is basically what the aftermath of ultra training looks like. This and sweet potato fries.

Decided to do my first solo trail run, and fell 100 feet from my finish. It doesn't look that bad, but a couple days later it looked like I had been beaten by a tree. I plan to just tell people that I fought off a mountain lion. Totally believable, right?

At the Western States trial run, I fell down at mile 3 of 19. This was taken maybe 6 hours after the fall, so it just looked like a little scrape, but putting pressure on my knee was incredibly painful.

When I woke up the next morning, I could see why. I had my knee taped, so I didn't realize how badly bruised it was until I took the tape off and waited 24 hours.

No wimps, man.

On a related note, I had the opportunity to meet Scott Jurek, a legend in the ultra world. He was charming, polite, a little shy, and freaking FAST! His new book, "Eat & Run" is currently available for sale. Scott's whole deal is he's a vegan, plant based runner, winning ultra after ultra after ultra. His book chronicles his wins and defeats, both personally and professionally. He's also included a vegan recipe at the end of each chapter. Did you know you can make your own rice milk? Definitely something that will be happening in the Combs/Friedrich household!

Thank you for your donations, friends.... I really appreciate it. :)

"Teams are made up of individuals. Without them, there is no team."

Well, I'm back, trying to raise $2,250 to help find cures and more effective treatments for blood cancers.

This time, however, I'm running an ultra marathon, a full 31.5 miles (WTF) at Muir Beach in August.

I've been asked, "What? An ULTRA marathon? But, have you run a full marathon?"

The answer is no.

But, I have a mission- to raise funds to help find cures and better treatments for leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma.

I'm still running in honor of Christina "Tibi" Parks, as the 1 year anniversary of her passing is coming up, and it still doesn't feel real.

I was super bad about updating this donation page with the Summer Season, so my goal is keep this bad boy updated with all my ultra tales!!

And considering I still don't feel like a real runner, I'm sure there will be plenty.

Please make a donation in support of my efforts with Team In Training and help advance the research for cures!

Ohhh lord, what the hell did I sign up for? I can blame my last minute decision to sign up for this ultra due to a pretty awesome at-the-time runner's high, but I am 100% committed and currently training for this Headlands 50k!

I’m nervous, I’m excited, but most of all, I’m determined to raise my full $2,250 to be donated to LLS for cancer research.

Tibi passed away one year ago today, and even though it was a full 365 days, a full 52 weeks, a full 525,600 minutes since her passing, it’s still just as shocking.

I have until August to raise this money, which is terrifying, not only because I still think it’s 2006 half the time, but also because I still need to finish out my Winter season with Team in Training, and run my big event, the NYC Half in March! Once that is complete, along with the Oakland half, I can focus on something I’ve grown to love, trail running.

I know Tibi was an avid hiker, so being able to run where she spent her training on hikes is sort of bittersweet, but it’s also inspiring. If a girl who was a three time cancer survivor could train and hike while sick, why can’t I, a healthy 29-year-old, suck it up, and run 31.5 miles of glory through the Marin Headlands, one of the most beautiful, albeit, difficult trails?

So, what is this 31.5 miles, exactly?

Well, the elevation looks something like this-

And the cutoff times look like this-

(Um… Cardiac Hill??)

This is ultramarathoning, one of the top 10 most extreme sports in the world, and I am attempting to be one of these crazy people, all in the name of raising money for cancer research.

Truthfully, I hope to look something like this by the end of the race-

(But, you know, not so identical to Dean Karnazes because that's super weird, but totally plus the American flag.)

Unfortunately, however, I have no doubt we will have an epic photo fail repeat from Nike, and I will look more like this-

So, won’t you help me kick the crap out of cancer with your donation?