In exactly one week, I'll be approaching the ½-way point of a 36-leg
relay ~ a running event through the mountains in Colorado. I'm
excited about participating in the Ragnar Colorado Relay; I
think it'll be a fascinating experience.
The way it works
is this: running the thirty-six legs of the relay is shared between
twelve people. You can do the math, but it works out to each person
running three legs of varying distances … if you're interested,
I'll be running third (the third, fifteenth, and twenty-seventh legs
at 8.9, 5.0, and 4.4 miles).
I'm stoked for
this event for a few reasons. First of all, I'm on a team with
eleven other ELCA Lutheran pastors. I don't know about you,
but when I think “Lutheran Pastor”, I don't usually think of
someone who's capable of running 10 to 20 miles in the space of 30
hours. But we found a dozen of us to team up and do this together.
In addition, I'm
stoked because our team, the Faster Pastors, is raising money to be
given to the ELCA Malaria Campaign (you should donate …).
Malaria is a deadly disease that can be prevented fairly easily
through the use of medicated bed nets. These cost about $10 each
(you should donate …). There are also anti-malarial drugs to treat
the disease once it's been contracted. Delivery and administration
of these drugs (of course) takes money. You really should donate.
Finally, I'm
stoked about this event because I'll have bragging rights. Sure, the
personal bragging rights are pretty nice. But what's more important
is that we who have run this event will have better leverage in our
congregations to encourage healthier eating on Sunday mornings and at
potluck suppers. We'll more readily be able to encourage people to
exercise and to keep their bodies fit. It's disingenuous to give
someone else instructions or advise that you're not willing to take
yourself.
If you feel
inclined to make a contribution (you really should …), you can do
that here:
And you should probably give more than $0.02
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