Moving for a cause

So I run. A lot. Blame a good friend of mine from college--he got me hooked on running and now I'm addicted. Six races total this summer (if you know of a good one in the Twin Cities area, let me know...especially if it is an adventure race):

1. Hoofin' It For Haiti 5K
2. Rugged Maniac 5K (obstacle race)
3. Go Commando 5K (obstacle race)
4. Warrior Dash 5K (obstacle race)
5. Minneapolis 13.1 (half marathon)
6. Twin Cities Marathon

So adventure races are a blast, infinitely more interesting than just running on a track (5K = 10-11 obstacles for all of those mentioned above). Challenging in a different way. :)

When I started running last year, my dear brother--Daniel--asked me "Why? A bear isn't chasing you, and neither am I, so why would you do that?" Well, now he runs too, so there. :) I run because it helps overall health (sleeping, immune system, etc). I run because God gave me legs that move and I'm gonna use them. I run because I'm high-strung and need a way to get my energy out. I run because people donate money to sponsor runners.

Here is the crux of this post: This summer it is my goal to run/spin (at the gym) 300 miles between June 1 and September 1. Yeah yeah yeah, that's a big goal. A friend of mine invited me to a biking challenge of similar length during the summer, but no bike is in this lady's possession. I do have two working legs are, however, and a desire to raise money for the organization that I work for.

As some of you know, I work for an organization called World Wide Village (www.worldwidevillage.org) and we do relief work in Haiti that is focused on providing a hand up, NOT a hand out. Hand outs cultivate a sense of dependency that is just plain unhealthy for a country that is doing its best to get back on its feet. WWV operates under the "teach the person to fish" model, and we focus on projects in the areas of clean food and water, health care, micro-enterprise (by the way, if you want greeting cards, let me know--we have hand-made ones for sale!), housing, and education. WWV is a Christian organization, and it is through the love of God in our hearts and God allowing us to be a part of his plan for Haiti, and the amazing supporters that we have, that we are even able to work in that country in the first place. I was there in January (check out my travel blog here: http://msnoratravels.blogspot.com/) and fell in love with the people and the country.

This summer my running is dedicated to all of the people in Haiti who need someone to come alongside them and stand in solidarity with them. If you would like to sponsor my running at 1 cent, 10 cents, or even 100 cents (or more!) per mile, please please please let me know. More details to follow. For now, I've run 5 miles towards my goal--only 295 left to go!!

I use Runtastic.com to track running (note that right now it says I wasn't active in sports--that's only because I added the run later instead of bringing my phone with me on the run and letting the GPS track me):