Thanks to a very generous donation from Volvo Cars of North America and Volvo of Stamford, I will be joining Team LIVESTRONG for the NYC Half-Marathon on March 21. Volvo and Volvo of Stamford have donated $2,000 to LIVESTRONG to help raise awareness and fight cancer.

You can also donate to my running effort at the NYC Half-Marathon by going to my LIVESTRONG Fundraising Page and making any sort of donation, even if it’s only $1; every donation helps.

Sunday, November 1, marked the beginning of Movember 2009. What is Movember? Here’s a quick description from their site:

Movember is an annual, month-long celebration of the moustache, highlighting men’s health issues – specifically prostate and testicular cancer.

The idea for Movember was sparked in 2003 over a few beers in Melbourne, Australia.  The guys behind it joked about 80s fashion and decided it was time to bring the moustache back.  In order to justify their Mos (Australian slang for moustache), they used their new looks to raise money for prostate cancer research… never dreaming that facial hair would ultimately lead to a global movement that would get men talking about a taboo subject – their health.

A Mo Bro starts Movember – the month formerly known as November – clean shaven, and grows a moustache all month long, garnering support from friends and family in the form of donations.  What’s more, a Mo Bro is a walking billboard for the cause as his new look opens the door for him to talk about cancers affecting men – making the moustache a symbol, much like the pink ribbon is for breast cancer.  Each Movember culminates in a Gala Partè in major cities around the globe where Mo Bros dress up to match their Mo, channeling the likes of Tom Selleck, Ghandi and Ron Burgandy, vying for the ultimate accolade:  Man of Movember.

While growing a Mo is left to the guys, Mo Sistas (women who support their guys) form an important part of Movember by recruiting Mo Bros, helping to raise funds and attending the highly anticipated Gala Partés.

This Movember, the money raised in the U.S. will be split between the Prostate Cancer Foundation and the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

The Prostate Cancer Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund research to find better treatments and a cure for prostate cancer.  

The Lance Armstrong Foundation will use the money raised by Movember to fund:
•    the LIVESTRONG Young Adult Alliance program which has the goal of improving survival rates and quality of life for young adults with cancer between the ages of 15 and 40. 
•    research initiatives to further understand the biology of adolescent and young adult cancers.

To date, Movember has raised $47 million globally making it the world’s largest charity event for men. Significantly, awareness of men’s health issues has improved with Movember helping to spread important health messages directly to millions of Mo Bros & Sistas around the world. 

We challenge you to join us in changing the face of men’s health.

Join my Movember team here: Riley Racing Movember Team

This past Sunday, my brother (AJ Riley / @ajriley) and I went skydiving at Skydive The Ranch in Gardiner, NY. I had watched a YouTube video of skydiving earlier in the week, and made the quick decision that we were going to do it that Sunday. It was a great experience, and I’m sure that I’ll be back doing it again very soon.

Skydive The Ranch from Jameson Riley on Vimeo.