Today I ran for life.
The trail by the ocean was beautiful—yellow and orange trees were on the sidelines, cheering me on. Dead leaves covered the trail like a blanket for me to run on. The air was crisp and clear. On my run I passed people walking and some jogging slowly. I, myself, was passed by many who were faster than me.
In spite of the beauty and the serenity of the trail, I felt like I was running for life. The run did me a lot of good. Of that I am sure. Every time I run, I feel like I increase the length of my life here on Earth a bit. I moved my body, I breathed fresh air, I interacted with lots of people who energized me.
But the real reason I knew I was running for life was the fact that I was running a race raising money so children in Burma could go to school. Watch a video here.
Before the race I shared with the participants about the people I have met who are literally running for their lives. When they run to hide from the attack of the enemy’s soldiers, they are not thinking about their health. They are thinking about survival. Two weeks ago I talked to a man and a woman who told me they could not even remember how many times they had ran. But at least 20 just the last year.
It was not the first time I heard that kind of story.
What I thought was so cool about the race we did today was that we could have fun, we could exercise and we could laugh while we were doing a good deed. I think we all need to realize that helping others can be fun and rewarding.
I also liked to see how different people used their talents and skills and made the day a success. Some young people are music students. So they entertained with music. 15-20 young and athletic soccer players have bodies that can run to the moon (or at least a very long way.) So they ran more laps than any of us, and raised more money than any of us too.
My friend, Anne Sofie, has the gift of administration and also, I may add, telling people what to do. So she was in charge of the whole shebang. I was so glad she did all that and I did not have to. It would have been a disaster with me in charge. Seriously.
So I have many thoughts tonight:
When we attend Run for Relief (that is what we call our race in English. In Norwegian we call it Run for Life, which I actually like better) the benefits are many:
We get fit. We get to be outside. Our hometown or whatever get great exposure. We raise money while having fun (if you don’t think running is fun, try walking.)
Best of all, we raise tons of money that will enable, in this case, hundreds of children to go to school.
What is there not to like about this concept?
Actually, I am thinking that you ought to arrange a race like this yourself. Ask your friends to join you. I am not kidding. Here, read about it here. And if you are in Norway, here.
Would it not be cool if the whole world joined us in small charity runs that made us healthier and happier while we also got to help children in need, in Burma, and other places? The Boston Marathon must be great. But how much greater is it to run a marathon to help others at the same time. That is my kind of running.
oddnygumaer.com 