Thursday, April 17, 2008

Post From Lauren!


Hello, this is Lauren, guest blogging on Karen’s Run Gasper, RUN! blog. Karen and I both have a great running life and a bad work habit. I ran my first marathon in Cleveland in May of 2006, right before I moved back to Ohio and shortly thereafter befriended Karen. Since that first marathon I’ve completed a 10k and half marathon and apparently the pain of Cleveland has worn off… because now I’m signed up to run the Cincinnati Flying Pig Marathon two years later this May.

Unlike Karen, I haven’t talked as much about my efforts in that first marathon or now my second. I feel moderately comfortable doing so now because I have actually completed a marathon and just last Sunday I ran my longest pre-marathon training run, 20 miles in unseasonably cold light rain and wind, up and down the hills of Cincinnati… I understand why Karen has been more public in her marathon aspirations, it can be great motivation to complete this hard task and a way to raise awareness about important issues. For me running has been a personal challenge, a time that I keep for myself and to myself. I decided to run my first marathon because I checked my Sunday mileage after developing a running habit over several years that always included a longer Sunday run. I was shocked to realize when I mapped my regular Sunday route that I was running half a marathon. It seemed like a logical step to challenge myself with the task of running a race and finishing a marathon. This time I’m hoping to improve my time a bit but the goal is still to have fun and maintain and improve fitness, both the mental and physical kind.

I hope you will consider joining me on marathon day, May 4th in Cincinnati, details at www.flyingpigmarathon.com. I hope you will also contribute at least $26.20 to Joliba Trust where even a small donation will help. Learn more www.jolibatrust.org.uk and donate here. See Karen’s first post about why she started this blog and why she chose Joliba Trust.

Karen’s original goal was to raise $2,000 and her friends, families and coworkers are contributing and they are on their way. Let’s achieve and exceed that goal. I feel lucky and that it is a great luxury to have the health, time, support, and fancy shoes and energy bars to be a runner (even a not-so-fast one). I hope this very personal, sometimes selfish marathon training will maybe inspire someone else to complete a seemingly insane challenge and to raise awareness about the issues women in poor countries are faced with. I hope you will donate, even just a little. And I hope you are inspired to get out and run, bike, and play this spring.

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