Tod Bolsinger

An Incomplete Marathon, A Completed Goal

Our SC Marathoners for Malawi Team took part in the Chicago Marathon today in temperatures in the 90s that were over 22 degrees above normal and with 86 percent humidity.  The unusually hot temperatures led to the death of a Michigan man. ( My heart goes out to his family.) As well as an most unexpected conclusion: The Race Organizers canceled the race because their were so many people going down with heat exhaustion and the City of Chicago had no more ambulances left (300 people were hospitalized.)   

Most of our runners were not able to complete the marathon and even those of us who did, did so, "unofficially."  (I finished but only after being ordered to walk the last two miles.) To make matters worse, the organizers did such a poor job with stocking the Aid Stations, many runners had to go with no Gatorade or water for up to seven miles in the scorching heat.  While there were many very disappointed runners, most of our Team World Vision Crew had a different perspective.  We ran for people who live in a very hot place and often don't have water.

So, while the race itself was disappointing, our goals were fulfilled and we had a most memorable experience and  will have many stories to tell...and maybe made a bit of difference in this world.

$25000, 88 degrees, 72% Humidity, 26.2 Miles

All for this little guy and his friends.  This was the first friend I made in Malawi and his is the face I kept before me in the training.  Now, tomorrow morning we are off and running.
Thanks again to all of you "back home."

Off to Chicago!

Our San Clemente Presbyterian Church Marathoners for Malawi Team is off to Chicago to run Sunday's Chicago Marathon with a team of 500 runners representing World Vision.

As a team, we have now raised $24,585 both online and offline. Which means we are just a little over $1600 from reaching a team total of $26,200 or $1000/mile. 

Thanks to everyone who has supported us, is cheering us on and is helping us to make a difference in a little country in Africa.

"Joy in his blood..."

Robert Browning's poem that made the Athenian herald Pheiddipides famous for his run from Marathon to Athens to tell of the victory over the Persians, is credited for creating the myth, romance and renaissance of the Marathon.  The "joy in his blood" was announcing the good news of a battle won. (Of course, ole' Pheiddy dropped dead at the finish line..)

On Sunday, Our team of Marathoners for Malawi Team is also running with great joy and with good news to some children in Malawi.  We have raised over $20,000 together as a team. (Our new goal is to get to $26,200 or $1000/mile).  With this money the leaders of the Malawi Area Development Project can decide what to do:  Keep building their first school, putting in a new well, get medicines for those with HIV/AIDs, give resources to children whose parents have died.

I sure fills me with joy to think about what a group of folks going out for a run on the shores of Lake Michigan can do.  Thanks for supporting us. If haven't yet and you still want to, go here.  Or here to my own sponsor page.  I'll try to blog from Chicago as the race nears.

6 days, $7875 to go...

The Chicago Marathon is just six days away and so far our SC Marathoners for Malawi team has raised a total (both online and offline) of $18,325.  That means if we can raise $7875 more dollars together in the next week, we'll have raised $26,200 or as a team $1000 per mile. 

We have trained hard and tried to spread the word and now we are ready to run. If you have already supported us, thank you very much. We will run for you and because of you.  If you'd like to support us, you can do so here at our team roster page, or here at my own sponsor page. (I am personally $800 away from $5000, my own personal goal.)

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." Margaret Mead

Malawi Marathon Team Makes Local Paper

Wednesday, September 26, 2007

       

Church members to run for Malawi      

Senior pastor, other members are training for the Chicago Marathon.

            

By ANDREW GOOD

            

Sun Post News

For 17 San Clemente Presbyterian Church members, running in the Chicago Marathon Oct. 7 will be more than just an athletic achievement.

The group hopes to raise at least $15,000 from the 26.2 mile marathon, enough to purchase a new well for Nkhoma, a community in Malawi, Africa that the church is sponsoring. Its part of an ongoing commitment by San Clemente Presbyterian, which has pledged to work at improving conditions in Malawi for 15 years... for the rest of the article, click here.

(Pictured above is the one of Dee Abell and me that ran in the local paper. Dee is our Choir Director and Minister to Senior Adults.  He is a grandfather and he and his son-in-law are both running on our marathon team. It's Dee's first marathon.  To sponsor him, go here.)

When asked what message we hoped our Malawi project would send to our neighbors and friends, I said,
"For those in our local community, who really want to be a part of something bigger than themselves, they could see a church doing more than paying attention to our own needs, but saying, come join us and we'll give you vision for the way in which God wants you to work in the world, and make a difference in your own life...We really want to be a church that says we take our faith seriously and want to live it by blessing those who may never come to our church."

What the last 6.2 miles is like...

Our Marathon for Malawi Team  (Cool video here)all ran a 20 mile training run last week.  Today it is 12 miles (in the rain no less).  We are two weeks away from the Chicago Marathon and we are the #5 team in money raised online for our World Vision Malawi project.   We'll keep training so that the vultures won't get us on the last 10K, but we are having fun and love the privilege of running for such a great cause.

Please support us, if you can.

Meet Some More of the Team

Labor Day weekend means that our Marathon for Malawi Team is one month away from taking to the streets of Chicago to raise money for World Vision's work in Nkohma.  (Cool video here.)

In the picture above are Jan, Dan, me, and Jon (whom you have already met) Jan is our experienced marathoner, and Dan, a young Dad with a one-year old at home, is running his first.   They are part of a team of runners that are made up of a lot of different folks of different shapes, sizes, speeds, and goals for the race with one aim: Making the lives of kid in Malawi better in the name of Jesus.  Some of us have been to Malawi, others of us are running because family members have been part of church teams.  Most all of us are supporting kids in Malawi through their child sponsorship programs.

We are still training, (18 miler this week--I am running 5 miles before I line up for the Disneyland Half Marathon on Labor Day) and  you could encourage us a by making a donation if you haven't, linking to your blog if you have one, or telling a friend about us.

 

I Care. And so I run.

12.5 mile training run today. The Chicago Marathon is six weeks away.   Thanks to all of you who are supporting our team. 

In honor of my favorite pre-run meal...

Eaten this morning at 6 AM before the 16 miler as my team and I keep training for the Chicago Marathon for Malawi.