For the past three years I have been telling friends and family that I was going to run a marathon in a banana costume. Unfortunately, knee problems, freak Mexican bachelor party-related injuries and plenty of lame-o excuses have kept me on the sidelines over the years.  But this past Sunday I had no excuses left in the tank and so I finally made good on my promise and ran the Bank of America Chicago Marathon in the banana suit.

            Photo courtesy of Leyla Arnan

Like thousands of other runners in the marathon, I chose to run for a charity organization and since cancer is something that has always been important to me, I decided to run for an AMAZING one-on-one cancer support organization called Imerman Angels.

Imerman Angels is a non-profit that pairs up cancer fighters with cancer survivors who have survived the exact same type and stage cancer.  For example, they will pair up a 23-year-old woman fighting stage II breast cancer with a 23-year-old woman who has beaten stage II breast cancer.  Their singular mission: By 2013 everyone in the world who is diagnosed with cancer will have access to a cancer survivor within 24-hours.

This year's "Imerman Active" marathon team had over 140 runners and raised over $108,000 for the charity.  For me, it was an incredible experience and I can't speak highly enough about the organization.  The staff and volunteers are all about hugs and high-fives, and the service provided is completely free and available to anyone in the world in any country.

If you know anyone who is battling cancer and could use some support from someone who has been in the same position, I would strongly encourage you to check out the site www.imermanangels.org or email them info@imermanagels.org for more info.

If you would like to run for Imerman Angels in next year's Chicago Marathon or any other race like the Shamrock Shuffle send them an email info@imermanangels.org

Lastly, I am recruiting more bananas to run with me in the 2010 Chicago marathon.  If you are interested, here are some tips to get your started: Banana Marathon Running 101