Faith, Hope, Love and Running

My name is Cassandra Pairis and I was born and raised in Southern California. Growing up I was always a little on the chubby side and my weight fluctuated throughout my life, my two sisters also had weight issues, my mom has had epilepsy for over 30 years and my dad has had three stints put in his heart due to clogged arteries. Our weight issues didn't just apply to our immediate family of five but our entire family, we've had Cancer, Diabetes, Heart Disease, Stroke, Epilepsy, High Cholesterol, etc...pretty much everything runs in our family unfortunately, something that is common when you’re in a Hispanic Culture surrounded by high fat foods. 

I am now 29 years old and have been running races for about ten years but just for fun and to encourage my family to be more active. Recently I realized no matter how much I try to encourage them through words or advice it wasn't enough, I was loosing more and more people I loved to these diseases that could be prevented through better health and exercise. So my motto of Go Big or Go Home has taken form in a challenge to run 52 half-marathons in 52 weeks starting next year 2014, I myself am on a more healthier path and have motivated some family to make lifestyle changes but I know I need to do more to really get my message across. I am starting now to try to get sponsored but find it hard since I'm not a pro or anyone of status. I hope to run for 8 different causes during my twelve months and to raise money for those causes. These causes are near and dear to my heart and I know every little bit I can raise for them will help. 

I have been told many times that I am crazy for wanting to even think of running so many marathons but being competitive it is an awesome challenge for me and a motivating challenge for those I inspire along the way. I have always strived to help others and I hope I can in a big way. Any kind of support would be great, even $1.00 would help out  Thank you in advanced for helping me on my challenge. 

Faith, Hope, Love & Running,

Cassandra <><