Running
Most people that have known me for any length of time, know how important running has become in my life. I’ve competed in numerous half-marathons, different trail races, an ultramarathon, and even a race called the Muddy Buddy. I’ve also dropped over 80 pounds over the years. Up to this point, most of my running efforts have been completely self-centered. Some of the races I’ve run in the past have been for different non-profits I’ve worked at in an effort to raise extra funds, but even those funds were to help me receive a portion of my salary.
All that has now changed.
Comrades Marathon was recently voted the #1 ultramarathon in the world by Runner’s World magazine. It was also voted the best race to travel for. It’s located in South Africa and is an 89k (almost 56 mile) race. Remember this date:
May 30, 2010.
A few years ago one of my best friends started a program for World Vision called Team World Vision, with the goal of encouraging people to run races and raise funds for different programs in Africa. Come the end of May 2010, I will be part of a 10-13 member team that will travel to South Africa and run this Comrades Marathon in an effort to raise 1,000-1,500 child sponsorships for children in Africa!
Every day close to 30,000 children die because they lack access to basic necessities. 30,000! Over the past year I’ve grown to the point where this is no longer acceptable to me. My wife and I have taken some personal steps towards this endeavor, but when this trip became available, I knew it was for me! After a few days of prayer and talking it over with my wife, we decided to take the leap.
Finally, my running has purpose for me, other than ME! I cannot begin to express the excitement, joy, and nervousness I am feeling at this very moment. Doing an ultramarathon was hard enough, and that was only a 50k (just over 31 miles). This race is another marathon on top of that! In the South African hills (that’s putting in mildly)! In the South African heat! I’ve run races for a lot of reasons in the past, but the chance to change the lives of 1,000-1,500 children dwarfs them all!
I post this to encourage you to consider getting involved. In the coming months I will be asking people to give serious consideration to sponsoring a child (or more) at the cost of $35 a month through World Vision. At the proper time we will give instruction as to how to get involved in this way. A website has been created, but will probably change sometime soon. For a brief look at this opportunity, check out www.comrades4thekids.org You can also go to www.youtube.com and look up videos on the Comrades Marathon to get a better understanding of what the race is about.
Please keep me and the entire team in your prayers, especially physically as the training will be more intense than anything I can imagine. But the payoff is so worth the effort!