Sunday 6 March 2016

Do I Know The Way To Buffalo?

Today I ran The Chilly Half Marathon.  A record was set today, the outside temperature for this race; not my time. I ran with no hat and no gloves to a very respectable 1 hour 40 minutes.

As I picked up my kit at the expo on Friday a volunteer gave me a coupon for 20 percent off the sponsors line of product. I laughed out loud thinking of the remote chance of ever using this coupon. The sponsor was Mercedes Benz.

Last week I came across a quote I loved, it is deep and not light hearted.
Charles Bukowski

Find what you love and let it kill you.
Let it drain you of your all.
Let it cling onto your back and weigh you down into eventual nothingness.
Let it kill you and devour your remains.
For all things will kill you, both slowly and fastly, but it`s much
better to be killed by something you love.

Immediately I thought of Brian McConaghy and Lisa Cheong and their pursuit of justice and freedom for those in Cambodia. I thought of the sacrifices they make daily.
For approximately three months out of every year I try to do the same.
Next is an article sent to a magazine for May`s printing.
I have been a runner for the last seven years. Running is an unexpected gift I have received; it is my shelter from the storms of life, eliminating my problems and stresses. This "gift" has added years to my life.  
I have run seven full marathons. I am currently in training for my eighth, scheduled for this May in Buffalo.  Training for and running marathons is the hardest thing I have ever chosen to do. The day of the race yields many surprises, very rarely positive ones!  Indeed, though running has added years to my life -  Running marathons may have taken some away!

I run marathons for the not for profit organization Ratanak International. Their mandate is to help victims of sexual exploitation in Cambodia.
I run marathons because I feel I have to; not because I like to.
I run marathons to show my daughters that to follow a dream you must make sacrifices.
I run marathons because I was always told "one man can make a difference." Running marathons has allowed me to try and be that man.
I run marathons experiencing temporary pain, in a small way it reminds me of the pain these young women must bear.
I run marathons because I am not smart enough to stop.

I have also been part of organizing four 5km walkathons to benefit the same organization.
 

The walkathons have raised over $95 000. Since this will be a special 5th anniversary that will see us reach the impressive figure of $100 000, I felt the need to try and do something special to celebrate this numerical milestone.
It is said that "imitation is the highest form of flattery".  Well, two years ago Neil Boron, a radio host from WDCX in Buffalo walked 100 miles from Buffalo to Mississauga and then took part in the Ratanak 5km walkathon.
One summer night I watched a documentary with my wife on runners called ‘Desert Runners’. One race was in The Sahara Desert, and in one day the runners ran 100 miles. This challenge appealed to me so I asked my wife permission to try this race; not surprisingly I was denied.

A week later I asked my wife about another idea that I had devised: namely, a  ‘reverse Neil Boron’!  I would run from Mississauga to Buffalo, and then run the full Buffalo Marathon on May 29. She said yes provided I get a driver.

My father, Don, agreed and now we are in the beginning stages of planning my run.

This journey may be called: 'Don and Larry`s Excellent Adventure.'  A huge problem for me in this endeavour will be my sense of direction, or lack thereof. I have been lost in every single part of the Greater Toronto Area; fortunately for me my driver/spotter knows his way around Ontario very well and my fear of making a wrong turn and running an extra twenty miles are mostly alleviated.

 My first marathon in Mississauga 2009 was run in support of the "NewSong Center": a project Ratanak started up in response to the need for looking after very young girls rescued from sexual slavery. A few years ago, Ratanak turned this program over to another organization and concentrated its efforts on another area that they felt needed support: young woman further along in their healing, but who were not quite ready to move out on their own. This program was named the “Ratanak Achievement Program”. I have decided that all funds from the walkathon and my journey will be directed to this program. I thought of the possibility of a young girl aged ten at the NewSong Center at the time of my first marathon who is eighteen now living in RAP. I thought of how with each marathon I ran she may have been moving closer to her healing, and how the efforts of a man in Mississauga she may never meet may have improved this young woman`s quality of life, and may have given her a chance to succeed.
There are so many great causes in this world. My heart always has been with the girls in Cambodia, perhaps because I am blessed to have a beautiful family of two daughters and my wife, who have experienced a much different life then the young women I run for.
I believe many people working together can partner and make a difference in these young women and their destinies.
More information in upcoming blogs.

Larry

 
 



 

 

1 comment:

  1. Larry, this is one of your best blogs ever! Please post it to Facebook and to the 5 KM Walkathon page. It needs to be shared widely. This part especially touched my heart: "I thought of the possibility of a young girl aged ten at the NewSong Center at the time of my first marathon who is eighteen now living in RAP. I thought of how with each marathon I ran she may have been moving closer to her healing, and how the efforts of a man in Mississauga she may never meet may have improved this young woman`s quality of life, and may have given her a chance to succeed." Yes! This is why we do what we do! xoxox Linda Ruth

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