Dam To Dam Run-5 miler

Cory sported his bad day hat to make it a good day. It worked for him today!

My friend, Braydon was there to share the cold weather with.

This was the group of friends that turned out for the Dam to Dam run. I didn't appreciate the wind blowing against me the whole run. I still averaged a 10:30 pace & finished in 52:33, a PR for me!

Painter's Half Marathon Jan. 23, 2010

This was what it looked like outside our front door the morning of the race. Foggy & wet! Fortunately we didn't get rained on.
Cory promised to run this race with me, even before we both had injuries. It was nice to have him by my side.

We met a group of friends before the start of the race. It's nice to have friends to cheer you on at the finish line. Thanks everyone!

St. George Marathon 2009

This is Cory on the morning of the St. George Marathon with friends that he has trained with all year long. I am so proud of Cory for accomplishing his goal of finishing a marathon. I also think he is crazy that he is going to do it again. Why not just stick with 13.1? It's not so hard on your body. Props to everyone who ran. You guys are my inspiration!

Cory's Mom & sister came down from Salt Lake to support him. They came prepared with some funny signs. We were all so glad they were able to make it. Cory's grandparents also cheered him on at about mile 18. All of the support was greatly appreciated.

I made these shirts for the kids to wear that said "My Dad ran 26.2". Nobody else had shirts like these. If you are wondering where Kylee is, she was asleep in the stroller.

The Golden Ticket or Medal if you will. Cory did awesome finishing in 4 hours 25 min. He is already planning for next year to beat his time. Anyone want to join him?

Read his whole marathon story at fastcory.blogspot.com

New Piano CD - Road of Hope

Drum roll please......introducing the cover of the new piano CD "Road of Hope" available October 3rd 2009! I've been listening to the music from this album over and over again. The songs here are simply amazing.

Check out this track list:
1. Our Love - Paul Cardall
2. Autumn Road - David Tolk
3. My Little Girl - Jon Schmidt
4. You Will Soar - Cory Reese
5. Heavenly Hands - Marshall McDonald
6. Muir Woods - Michael R. Hicks
7. Return To Eden - Paul Cardall
8. Cherished Moments - Jon Schmidt
9. Believe - Cory Reese
10. Last Jerusalem Sunset - Michael R. Hicks
11. For Lisa - David Tolk
12. Morning Light - Marshall McDonald
13. The Release - Paul Cardall

You'd be hard-pressed to find a finer collection of piano music. The best part is that you can receive one of these CDs by donating to a cool charity! Click HERE to order.

Donate Life!!!

My friend Paul Cardall is sick. This excellent husband, father, and musician is in desperate need of a heart transplant. Paul has been my biggest mentor since becoming a musician and I had to do something to help him and others like him.

I wanted to let you know about a charity team I’ve set up for the St. George Marathon with a fantastic group of people at Intermountain Donor Services. They coordinate all the organ transplants in the state and provide education at schools and fairs about the importance of organ donation. This is definitely a life-changing organization.

I’d like to challenge you to run a “virtual race” with me called the DOME (Dixie Organ Marathon Event). Your race fee (charity donation) could be:

$10 ~ Shadow Runner: I don’t want to run but would like to contribute.

$26.20 or more ~ DOME Virtual Runner

For contributions of $26.20 or more you receive an EXCLUSIVE PIANO CD featuring Paul Cardall, Jon Schmidt, David Tolk, me, Marshall McDonald, and Michael R. Hicks. This will be sweet!

For more info and to donate, visit http://www.yesutah.org/content/dome or email me at cory@coryreese.com .

Pioneer Trek - Walk As A Witness

So a few months ago Cory & I were called as the Youth Conference leaders, which was to be a pioneer trek. This past weekend the trek took place. It was such an awesome experience. I am so amazed by the strength of the Hurricane 8th ward youth. I want to thank all of the leaders & Ma's & Pa's that helped make the trek possible. We couldn't have done it without you. Also, I want to thank Cory for all the time he put into coordinating everything & doing all the speaking (public speaking is not one of my strong attributes). I'm so glad Cory was there with me to share a great experience.

This is another picture from the women's pull. They were so strong!!!

We did lots of fun activities like making butter, pioneer stories, a blind walk, stick pulls, etc... This is me getting creamed by Liz Dansie. She is one tough cookie!

The women's pull was by far one of the most spiritual experiences I have had. It was so hard to watch those girls push & pull the handcarts up the steep rocky hill. The boys were not able to touch the handcarts & we were all put on a "silence". The boys figured out that they could help by picking up the rocks & throwing them to the sides so it was easier to move the handcarts. I related this experience to my own kids. As parents we can't go fight our children's battles, but there will be angels to help them along the way. And the sense of accomplishment that you have when you have overcome a trial is amazing! You girls ROCK!

Why Mel Is Awesome

Since Mel is a Blacker (blogging + slacker, ©2009, Cory Reese), I thought I'd make a post about how awesome she is.

Of the many reasons she is awesome, one particular reason is that she is running the BRYCE CANYON HALF MARATHON in two weeks!

I'm impressed with the time and effort that she has dedicated. She wakes up at an inhumane hour to go running with me, and even goes out in the evenings which are miserably hot. I'm proud of her.

Currently I'm trying to talk her into wearing this outfit for the half marathon: