On Saturday morning, January 16, 2010, a large number of the Running Fit 501 Marathon Training Team met in Ann Arbor for the last off-season run of the, well, off season. But rather than just a Saturday long run with friends, this one had another purpose. One of our members, Marie, is a trainer for the LIVESTRONG program at the Ann Arbor YMCA. The program provides cancer survivors with the opportunity to build muscle mass and muscle strength, increase flexibility and endurance, and improve functional ability, at no cost to the participant. But it still cost the Y to run the program.
On Saturday, the runners participating in the long run each donated $5 to the LIVESTRONG program, with the goal of raising $100, which is the amount needed to sponsor one participant in the program for the entire 12-week session. We had so many runners turn out and donate that there was enough money to sponsor 2 participants! (The $5 donation was not expected or required to participate in the run......as with all off-season runs, all who showed up were welcome.)
This is just another example of the huge heart of the running community! Thanks to Rob and Marie for organizing the run, the course (although some of the runners would argue that point), the water stop, and the fund raising! And thanks to all the runners who participated! Cheers!
And, of course Asia was there, so happy to be running with her team again. They couldn't hold her back for the first 5 miles. She ran with Katie's husband John and the fast guys until a traffic light slowed her down. She waited at the water stop, then the finished the final 5 miles with Katie, Jen, Carmine and Gwen. Wicked hills on the course!
