Attention all skaters - your logged miles are needed for Vivian White's cause: her son Brian Bales. Please HELP!

Great question. Miles would start 7/01/09 and could be ANY miles (training, event based, warmup, whatever). Just send me an email with details: name, date, miles, and mileage classification - inline, run, or bike. It will go on a weekly spreadsheet to Vivian. This will help her determine how to best tally our miles. Viva le Garmin Forerunner!

Calling all skaters --- Week #4 tabulations are ongoing and look VERY strong! Please advise your miles from 7/19 through 7/25. It looks like a new record is in the making. Thanks!

Hi All, Week #4 was from 7/19 through 7/25 and what a week it was. So far we've had about 8 or 10 skaters reporting miles for this project. And collectively these 8 or 10 had a very nice week at 425 miles. But that wasn't all. TX Johnny reported some miles this week - WOW.... 469 miles! That's not a typo - 469.3 to be exact. Really? Are you kiddin' me? That's RIDICULOUS. I've got the daily breakdown if you're interested. So we'll report 894.3 to Vivian (447.15 for her calculations). Thanks everybody! Please keep me posted on miles from 7/26 through 8/01.

Hey gang, Week #5 of the skateymiles project was from 7/26 to 8/1/09. If you get a moment, check your logs and report you skate miles. Together, we are crushin' some miles and really boosting Vivian's totals quite nicely. Thanks!

Hi All, Please let me know your miles for #7. muchas gracias

Hi All, Our mileage campaign is making a huge difference. Bigger than you might have ever imagined. Please take a moment to read this 8/24/09 message relayed by Vivian, direct from Brian in Iraq! Hi everyone, I just wanted to share with you a message from Brian, as he sends his thanks to all of you. If you'd like to send him a message directly, you can email him at bbal...@yahoo.com also, for anyone who hasn't seen our webpage blog, you can go to www.boilermaker.com then click on milesforbrian. There's some pictures of Brian on there. Thanks, Vivian Brian's message: Dear, readers, runners, friends, family, supporters, anyone who has searched or found this very committed inspirational quest, My name is PFC Brian, C Bales. I've been in Iraq serving our country since January of 2009. My mother Vivian sends me and forwards me all of your very motivating and life touching emails on a daily basis. As i sit and read them i think about how far we have all come as people, as citizens of this great country...our sacrifice as soldiers has become a truly life touching event for millions of people around the world. My life in the short time I've been here has changed significantly, it has been a hard and a long deployment thus far...but as the perils of combat have become increasingly stressful I find comfort in my family and anyone who has taken the time to run just one mile for me, and for the soldiers of the united states Army, and other branches. Being here has changed my life forever it has been a very difficult task in my life...but for every mile and every letter I read I become a stronger individual and a stronger soldier...to know that my duty overseas defending your freedom and the freedom of humans in general around the world has become so recognized and respected...all of you who donate these miles are true American heroes... I read how many people refer to me as a hero and it makes me so proud...but what makes me more proud as a soldier is knowing that its heroes like you all that bring us home safely..you give us the strength and courage to keep running our race overseas...to keep rucking that last mile...to keep pushing on in our own quest for freedom...take my words as you will, but know that if you're one of the very honorable people that have dedicated their time to me and to the fine Americans I have pleasure to be here with... my respect and honor will always be somewhere in your heart as you continue to reach your goals as a runner or as a person. All of your ambitions have truly helped me and my fellow soldiers get this far in our deployment to the middle east. - PFC Brian Bales

Hi All, Collectively we're doing an awesome job. Brian's cause is quickly approaching 52,000 miles! Of which, the Roadskater.net family has contributed over 1,600 (actually over 3,200 but since we're on wheels our miles are halved). Please check out http://milesforbrian.com for the very latest. And keep the miles coming! MikeB

Happy Thanksgiving skaters. With any luck you've completely over indulged and are looking for ways to burn some calories. Skating would be a tremendous way to do just that. As so many of you are, Vivian has been dutifully logging miles for her son Brian and all his buds overseas. If memory serves me correctly, the project will be ending approximately December 10th, when Brian is to come back home. The Roadskater.net family has been tremendous in reporting and logging almost 6,000 miles. We're oh so close, with only a couple weeks left. Let's finish strong and hit that 6K mark. Every mile counts going down the home stretch. As this project wraps up, I hope to have an ending report done for y'all by Christmas. Thanks for your help and your wonderful support + as always: skate strong, skate safe.

Hi All, It's with mixed emotions to inform you this project ends in 10 days. The www.roadskater.net community has truly been outstanding in this effort. Thank you. I rec'd the following note from Brian's mom, Vivian, just the other day: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Greetings family, friends and fellow runners, After many, many days of travel, and about 15 hours of flight, Brian's plane has landed in the United States! He is safely home from Iraq! The longest year of my life is over, and I can finally breathe again. He'll be home in a few days, to be with us for Christmas! When I started this journey, my goal was to run 6,436 miles - the distance from my home to where Brian was stationed in Iraq. I knew it was a lofty goal, and I'd have to work hard to acheive it. I never imagined, in all my dreams, that people like you would bond together to help me - a person you didn't even know. With all of your support, we reached 179,982 miles!!! Yep, you read it right, one hundred seventy nine thousand nine hundred and eighty two miles! We've had 45 states and 6 other countries running with us to 'bring Brian home' - and we did it! We've had individual runners/walkers/bikers/skaters on our team as well as daycares, elementary school classes, high school track teams, and large corporations that have helped. It's people like you that make this country strong and proud! You've helped this mother stay connected to, and feel closer to her son so very far away. I wanted to thank all of you for the overwhelming support that you've given to Brian and I over the long year of his deployment. I don't know how I would've made it through on my own. The donated miles, the birthday cards, the gifts, the emails, the thoughts and prayers that you've sent warmed my heart and gave me hope through the darkest of days. There are so many of you that have given your time and deligently reported your miles every week to help keep me focused on the end result. You kept my mind from thinking about the many horrors of war, and the danger that he was in every day. You kept my mind clearer, and my heart stronger. And for this, I cannot express enough my thanks. We'll continue to accept miles, but keep an eye on our website, www.milesforbrian.com for updates. Thank you for your continued support of our soldiers overseas! With God's help, they'll all come home soon. ~signed, the happiest mother on the earth right now, Vivian - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hey, how cool is that?! So, please report December miles when you have a chance (either here or to my email). We've logged 6,115 miles through November and it would be so awesome to close in on 6,436 which was Vivian's original goal in running to Iraq. Skate strong, skate safe, and many thanks!