But none of these has been as rewarding as the "marathon" that I ran with Team Tardiff recently. As my biking partner, Mark Kilmister, and I headed out into the dark of the night, I wasn.t sure what to expect. I.m not used to running at 4:30 in the morning. Actually I.m not used to doing anything but sleeping at that time. I soon learned what a tranquil time it was. The sights and sounds were definitely different to what I usually experienced driving to work. I have to admit there were some smells that weren't too keen - like that of a skunk. I could have never done it without Mark. He would pedal right behind me, with a headlamp on his helmet to shine a path in front of me. Whenever I signaled, he would come up along side of me and pass me drinks and bites of bananas or carbo bars.

At one point he began to hum the theme song from "Rocky" but that didn't work. He is an art teacher, not a music teacher. The other two people who made this a success were MVMS teachers Andy Caulton and Mark Marasca, who were heading out from their starting point with the same goal in mind - to make it to Mountain View Middle School for the start of the school day.

The only difference with them is that I heard Mark was singing English pub songs to Andy as he ran.

We were in continuous cell phone communication - the wonders of technology. It would have really interrupted my steady pace if I had to keep looking for pay phones to stop at.

As we all began to attack the Wallace Road hills, our running paths came together and we joined forces for the remainder of the marathon run. I fully realize now why our school is called Mountain View. These hills were as tough as the heartbreak hills in the Boston marathon. I was fortunate to have one of our dedicated parents, Bruce Hartwell, join up with us at that time. Seeing that he lives in that area, he is truly "king of the hill" and pushed us right up them. As we got closer to the center of Goffstown, we were now running in the early morning daylight and were "greeted" by shouts from many passing motorists.

Reaching the Goffstown Commons in good shape, we were met by Principal Rose Colby and a contingent of teachers and parents who were ready to accompany us for the last few miles to school. It was great to see them and have them along for the finish.

Then we experienced something unbelievable. We planned to divert from the main road and run a loop by Maple Avenue School. After all, Mariah Tardiff attends school there and they had done a great deal of fundraising for the cause.

Well, as we headed out from the common, you could hear a roar coming from the direction of the school. As we got closer, it got louder and louder and we realized it was the Maple Avenue students cheering for us. As we ran by and "high-fived" many of them, the noise did not let up. I have heard that they were heard all the way over at the SAU building.

I have heard the famed girls of Wellesley College before in Boston but the Goffstown students were even louder! With this inspiration, we headed to MVMS with renewed determination. Our running course was clear and uninterrupted as Chief Mike French, Capt. Glenn Dubois and members of the Goffstown police department provided support for us.

Not to be outdone by Maple Avenue, our own students, teachers and parents were ready and waiting for us as we headed up Tirrell Hill Road to the school. At this point the legs were getting tired and we welcomed their motivational cheers. As emotionally uplifting as this day was, it was just one day of many that we have been experiencing as part of our Team Tardiff fundraising effort here at Mountain View. I never cease to be amazed by the compassion and benevolence of the human spirit.

I knew very little of Dunbarton, Goffstown and New Boston when I came here last year. I have quickly learned that these three communities are home to some of the finest families that I could ever have the good fortune to know. When word of Brandon's situation first became public, the offers of support came flooding in. Fundraising ideas came from both students and adults and were numerous in number.

As much as I feel it is right to publicly thank all of the people involved, I fear that I would miss some people along the way. That is a true testimony to the magnitude of support that has been provided these past couple months.

Individuals and local businesses have donated items and/ or services to be raffled off. Many of our vendors provided the food and drinks, at no cost, for our spaghetti supper. Teachers have "hit the roads" in search of donations from businesses that they have some connection with. We saw our cafeteria staff and Brandon's classmates lead the way with their generous donation of their time and services to prepare a great feast that served over 400 people. We were joined by Maple Avenue, Villa Augustina and our SAU office in these fundraising efforts.

I was probably most amazed by all of the different fundraising ideas that came from students, teachers and staff. They have made and sold inspirational bracelets, held bake sales, donated class funds, put together gift baskets to raffle, made pins to wear, planned dances and other events, set up Beanie Baby treasure hunts, sold T-shirts, held literary raffles, paid a donation to be able to wear a hat for a day and even given up ice cream for a day. Monetary donations have come in the forms of corporate checks as well as coins that you know came from someone's allowance.

One of the most touching moments came when a little preschooler walked up to Mrs. Colby at the common and handed her a baggie full of coins. Because of the generosity of so many, we were able to present Brandon's mom with a check for $4,000 this week. We will soon be donating an equal amount to the Dana Farber Cancer Research Institute.

And yet we are still not done. There are still three fundraising efforts in process:

We will soon have wristbands (similar to the Livestrong bands) available for sale to students and families.

On June 3, we will be sponsoring a dance for seventh- and eighth-graders with all proceeds going to the Tardiff Medical Fund.

We hope to see all of our seventh- and eighth-graders there for a great night of fun with friends while supporting a worthwhile cause.

By popular request, we will soon have more Team Tardiff T-shirts for sale.We sold out our first batch of these shirts before the spaghetti dinner was even half over and have been flooded with requests for more. Mr. Andy Berube has generously agreed to help make more of these shirts available. Please take note of the order form in the Paws News and return it to school.

I think you now realize why I was apprehensive to try and name every individual who has been involved in this cause. On behalf of Brandon Tardiff and his entire family, I want to thank you all!
Fred Deppe
Assistant Principal
Mountain View Middle School

High school students joined forces with volunteers from the Goffstown Network and local postal carriers from Goffstown, Dunbarton, New Boston and Weare to collect, sort and store more than 4,400 pounds of canned goods and nonperishable food items.

The operation began earlier in the week when 8,500 postcards were mailed out to area residents announcing the national event sponsored annually by the postal carriers to "Stamp Out Hunger." Those wanting to donate were instructed to place bags containing food items near their mail boxes on Saturday.

Beginning at 9 a.m. volunteers from the Goffstown Network drove their cars along the mail routes collecting the bags. Items put out later in the day were picked up by the mail carriers.

Except for the donations from Weare, everything was brought back to the Goffstown Network's location at 9 North Mast Street where high school students and food pantry volunteers unloaded vehicles, weighed, sorted and stored the two-plus tons of food. Items collected in Weare were donated to its own local food pantry.

The generous outpouring of community support was greatly appreciated and very much needed. The Goffstown Network food pantry serves about 60 families each month and food inventories had become seriously depleted in recent weeks.

In addition to annual food drives, the Network receives donations year-round from area churches and community organizations. Groups wishing to sponsor a food drive may contact the Network at 497-3433. Individual donations are also a major source of food for the pantry.

Anyone who missed the opportunity to donate during the Postal Food Drive may still donate to the Network by placing nonperishable food items in the collection bins located at the exits of either Shaw's or Hannaford.
Dave Whitney
Goffstown Network