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(image: George's "mo")

You’re not keeping that are you? What does your wife think? How do you get away with that? Where’d your beard go?! I didn’t recognize you …

Half way through my sixth Movember, I’ve had a fair amount of practice getting used to the comments and “hairy eyeballs” that my mustache provokes. I first participated in Movember in 2010. I had just graduated college and was living with my parents, working alternating day and night shifts, looking for my first “real” job. I was bored and I was looking for entertainment. As I read up on Movember and discovered what it was all about, I realized I really had no excuse not to participate. It would take minimal effort on my part, I had a decently full beard (so I wouldn’t look too sketchy), and best of all: it was for a good cause.

The Movember Foundation, #55 in the top 500 non-governmental organizations, is a global organization dedicated to improving men’s health and encouraging the difficult conversations that guys tend to avoid. Starting with just 30 participants in Australia in 2003, 5,232,625 participants have since raised $710 million for a broad range of programs and trusted men’s health partners. The Movember efforts are focused on three key issues: prostate cancer, testicular cancer, and mental health and suicide prevention.

“The state of men’s health is in crisis. Men experience worse longer-term health than women and die on average six years earlier. Prostate cancer rates will double in the next 15 years. Testicular cancer rates have already doubled in the last 50. Three quarters of suicides are men. Poor mental health leads to half a million men taking their own life every year. That’s one every minute. Our fathers, partners, brothers and friends are facing this health crisis and it’s not being talked about.
We can’t afford to stay silent.”

I can help and all it will take is a mustache? Count me in.

(image: design by Thy Doan)

For the first few years I followed the rules to a T. I shaved clean every November 1st and grew the “mo” from scratch. Since then, as I have become more motivated by the spirit of the movement and it’s purpose, I’ve become less of a stickler for the rules so I usually shave my beard down and leave however much of a ‘stache I’ve already grown. The bonus is that I’ve found a fuller mustache tends to start more conversations which leads to greater success.

After shaving, I often forget that I have a mustache until I catch myself in the mirror in the morning. I always feel like a cop or a fighter pilot (à la Goose), but really I’m just a dead ringer for my father when he was my age. No matter who or what the mustache makes me look like, I’m lucky to have a wife who puts up with my foolishness. In fact, it was the middle of my second Movember, when we first started dating. I took her agreeing to be seen in public with me as a good sign.

Movember has become a fun “remember when” time of year for us and it has been a great excuse for us to collaborate. I’m a printer with a background in graphic design and she’s a designer with a passion (and knack) for hand lettering. I like to send out a sort of “thank you” to all of my donors at the end of the month so we usually tackle that together. It helps kickstart the holiday cheer and spreads the warm fuzzies. Besides, it’s the least we can do.

I plan to put together a letterpress piece again this year, but I am broadening my goals. I usually go it alone, but this year I have been trying to put my connections to good use to build a team of letterpress printers: The Handsome Devils. The name is a nod to the Distinguished Gentleman’s Ride that Movember organizes and a bit of print trivia. Historically, a “Printer’s Devil” was a person serving at or below the level of apprentice in a printing establishment.

(image: print by George Graves & Thy Doan)

Movember advertises three ways to participate: growing a mustache, taking a movement/exercise challenge, or hosting an event. In coming years, I’m hoping this team grows into a fourth method of participation. I’m asking that each team member also be willing to print a commemorative piece as a thank you for their donors. We’re starting small this year, but in years to come I would love to see this culminate in a gallery show at the end of the month as a sort of wrap party.

Other than the fact that I’ve always gotten a kick out of trying out different beard and mustache styles, I continue to participate in Movember for two reasons. First: I grow the mo for my brothers who face battles far greater than anything I’ve experienced and do so with far greater courage than I possess. I won’t name them, because their humility is part of what I admire so much about them. Second: I’m using Movember as motivation to begin speaking more openly about my own experiences with anxiety and depression with the hope of removing the stigma for other men who might be struggling silently.

If you’d like to help me change the face of men’s health, please donate directly to my fundraising page or to The Handsome Devils' page. If I reach my goal of $1,000 Clayton and Zoard are going to rock mustaches with me for at least a week. Right guys? Right?

Perhaps even more importantly, take the leap and have the tough conversations with the men in your life. The Movember website has all the tools and information you need to fully arm yourselves for just such an effort!

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All right, who's ready for the second official Smudge Ink playlist!? Don't ask me how it happened, but somehow a portion of the office has caught the running bug (more on that here and here). It's a perpetual illness only remedied by the constant need to hit some pavement. If you have the running bug or feel like you yourself may be catching it, let this playlist curated by our entire office be the music to your ears. The rhythm to your heartbeat. The stomp to your Monte-Python-esque coconut gallop. Now get to stepping (and I mean that in the most encouraging way of course)! You got this!

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Since I began running in 2012 I hadn’t raced anything longer than a 5K. Then over the summer, one of my best friends signed up for the White Mountain Milers Half Marathon and I thought, why not? I needed a running goal to stay on track with exercising anyway, and a half seemed exciting and doable. So I found a training plan, picked Clayton and Deb's brains for tips and tricks, and started getting ready for race day (October 30th). Let me tell you what I learned.

First of all, after a few weeks of adhering to the scheduled runs precisely as they were written, I realized I needed to be flexible and chill out. Listening to my body and rescheduling both short and long runs if necessary became as important as getting enough mileage week to week. When my right ankle was aching after my final long run, a 10-miler the weekend before the race, I took an extra day off and scaled back my short runs even though I was freaking out! But the extra rest paid off and I had no problems on race day.

As my long run mileage increased in late September, I spent way too much time Googling "running fuel." Turns out, Swedish Fish are packed with the kind of sugar and calories that runners like me dream of. Clayton confirmed what all my Googling suggested and after a test run (ha!) about 5 weeks before the half I was hooked. They gave me a boost to finish the last few miles of each long run and were easy to eat and digest on the go. And they saved me the trouble of trying to make fruit juice gummy candy in my own kitchen!

As the race approached, my excitement waned and my nerves went into overdrive. I anxiously planned meals, slept as much as possible, checked and rechecked my list of things to pack and generally stressed out. But being in North Conway, New Hampshire on the rainy day before the race was not only fun but had a calming effect. The leaves were brilliant, the air cool and crisp, the shops and restaurants diverting. And I was able to enjoy all of it because I knew I was prepared.

Race day was the best day! I was tired and anxious (Was I going to be cold? What if I got too hot? Why did I stay up till 11 when the plan had been to be asleep by 9?!?) but when the race started my body took over, I settled into my favorite pace, and made my way, mile by mile, through the most beautiful New Hampshire fall scenery. I had a moment of panic after completing 6 miles when the adrenaline and novelty of running a half wore off and my body felt drained. But after eating a few fish I got back in the groove and carried on.

And then, when I received encouraging text messages at mile 10, I started to push it. My last three miles were, surprisingly, my fastest. I'd been training to push the last two miles of each long run and that paid off in a major way. Although there was a hill at 12.9 (how could they?!!) and my mind was ready to give up, my legs kept pushing and I crossed the finish line 4 minutes ahead of my goal time!

All in all, what can I say except that for anyone on the fence about doing a half: do it. It is awesome!

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I told myself I wouldn't run another full marathon. Too much time. Too much commitment. Too much money for food stuffs (you've got to provide calories to use calories, people). However, somehow the running culture of Boston got to my restless bones, and I thought to myself, what if I could qualify for the Boston Marathon? Afraid of the failure, and the time I would be wasting if I did not qualify, I reasoned that the only way I would try would be if I ran for a charity; ergo Team in Training, a fundraising branch of the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society that raises money for blood cancer research and treatments. (Back story: my brother was diagnosed with cancer the year I left for college, and I can happily report that he has his health back plus a family of his own now.) When I looked up TNT’s upcoming races, one just happened to be a Boston qualifier: The Chicago Marathon.

I stuck to one of the BAA training plans and three months later, I was on my way to Chicago, making it just in time for the pre-race dinner. The dinner included trays of delicious carbohydrates, final fundraising updates, guest speakers, and hundreds of people gathered together in a large room all for the same purpose. I ran into a man in the elevator only to find out later that this was his 40th plus marathon running with Team in Training. He was recognized in the banquet room with a few others who had raised over $50,000 for blood cancer research over their years of involvement. They reminded me of my dad's cousin who ran with Team in Training for years (who one year ran for my brother) and who sadly was later diagnosed and lost his battle with cancer. 

A guest speaker also reminded me of my family and the way I was brought up. The woman speaking was on another TNT team (the Alaska team). Her six-year-old son had unfortunately lost his battle with cancer, and she was heartbroken. It seems silly, but the part that got me was that for his Make a Wish experience, all he wanted to do was drive a John Deere tractor. My family farms, and driving a tractor is something everyone in my family gets to experience. Thankfully this lady's son got to experience the simple joy when he got to drive tractors all day at John Deere's headquarters in Michigan before he lost his battle with cancer. The woman was encouraged by a friend to participate in Team in Training after his passing. Though it was tough for her at times, she continued to go to practices as a form of therapy almost and their team's mantra became fittingly, "Run like a Deere." I decided I would do just that.

The next morning, all of the TNT runners met at 5:30 AM to shake out some nerves, encourage one another, and hear one more inspirational story. Once again, the experience hit a little too close to home. We were all given pennies and were recited a poem about a penny as a traveling vessel for an angel. It was written by another individual that did not win his battle with cancer. The Christmas after my Papa's (grandfather's) passing, all of us in the family were given pennies with the stamp of an angel on it. He never failed to pick up spare change, even a penny, when he found coins lying on the street. That morning, we were all encouraged to leave the penny we were given somewhere along the course. I had a feeling that my Papa was with me that day.

I checked my bags, stood in line for the porta potties, and made my way to the corale with the rest of the runners in a buzzing maze humming to the tune of excitement, nerves, and Portuguese/Spanish accents. I oddly felt more and more at home. The day was beautiful and the weather was set for perfect running weather: a cool mid-50 degrees. Before I knew it, the starting gun sounded, and there was no turning back.

The course was great! You really experienced most of the neighborhoods of Chicago. You can even see the virtual map here. It's basically like running it in warp speed. The aid stations and volunteers were AMAZING! There were so many great people cheering on us runners and providing entertainment along the way. My top 10 moments: 1) A sign that said, "If Trump can run, so can you;" 2) A golden lab dressed as a bumble bee; 3) Eating the Swedish Fish that Sarah gave me along the way; 4) Dropping my penny on the course; 5) A drag stage thumping some pop classics; 6) Seeing one of my super enthusiastic coaches, Laura, at mile 16 yelling with encouragement and the prideful chant of "GO TEAM;" 7) The rhythmic Chinese drum in Chinatown; 8) Lip sinking to Bohemian Rhapsody and slightly air drumming in the final stretch of the race; 9) Passing people who weren't running for a charity (don't get me wrong, it's great that people run marathons whatever the reason, but there's something gratifying about representing a great organization like TNT towards the front of a pack); 10) FINISHING!

Hopped up on endorphins, I was ecstatic to find a free Goose IPA directly after the finish! Yes, it was handed to me even before the metal, but I'd rather finish like that any day! I cheered to my dad's cousin in a silent/subtle act of solidarity and enjoyed what the remainder of the day had to offer. It involved a quick change back at the hotel, watching a few of my fellow teammates finish, a second Goose IPA, texting with family and friends, and live music. Did I mention Giordiano's deep dish pizza, accompanied by another beer? After sufficiently refueling, I hobbled back to the hotel, stretched a bit, and slept the most magnificent sleep of my entire life.

Despite my reluctance to sign up for another marathon, I couldn't have asked for a better race and experience. The Chicago marathon is seriously one of the best organized races I have EVER experienced. I felt connected to the TNT cause. I felt family and friends with me that weekend in spirit. Grand total for my fundraising: $2,580.88! Almost $200 over my fundraising goal! My team raised over $40,000 as a whole! And ... well, I guess I'll say it, I qualified for Boston! Thanks friends and family for all of your support! Thanks to everyone who donated! Special thanks to Black Ink Harvard Square and Marathon Sports Brookline for contributing to my fundraising efforts. And congrats to all of my fellow teammates who ran their marathons and reached their fundraising goals!

Stay tuned for 2018! I think I'm running again with TNT! Smudge, you may not know this, but I'm thinking of having you guys help me with a fundraising idea called, Make Purple Sell (it's fitting for both Smudge Ink and Team in Training).

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THE GOOD. It's finally Halloween! Well, we sort of cheated and have been unabashedly gobbling a stash of our favorite candy for a couple weeks now. But what we’re truly excited about beats any amount of Kit Kats and Butterfingers: we welcomed George to the team! He is our new pressman, and the only way to describe him is magical. From the first day he and his trusty toolbox arrived, he’s mesmerized us with his printing, ink mixing, and press whispering. AND he brings in donuts (of the fresh from Union Square variety). Magical, right?

Speaking of amazing feats, Clayton ran the Chicago Marathon this month. Or more like he sprinted the marathon to the tune of 02:46:41!! You guys, that placed him 260th out of tens of thousands of runners! But if you ask him how it went he’ll just say he felt good and was excited to raise money for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. That’s great and all, but I think a little Rocky theme song is appropriate here.

In other good things, we officially introduced April May for Smudge Ink! This line of map cards and prints all grew from my love of Boston and its neighborhoods. I’ve included many other cities and state since my first map drawing six years ago, and now all Smudge Ink customers can shop the collection.

THE BAD. Like all months, not everything went according to plan. Our “September” release was a full month late. Changes to schedules and staffing, coupled with an already demanding print lineup for the holidays, added up in bottlenecks and delays. It was a good lesson on how to tackle issues and make necessary adjustments sooner rather than later. We also made sure to communicate everything to our sales reps, being quick to answer all of their questions and providing them with easy access to our catalogs to show to stores in the meantime. We're really happy to see Valentines orders already starting to come in!

THE NOT-SO-UGLY. Crusoe kills it with this costume.

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