On the Run

About two months ago, I agreed to run with my friend Lara in the Okanagan International Marathon on October 11th.

Just to be clear, we're not running the whole 42.2K. I'd kinda like to keep my toenails, thankyouverymuch. Instead we're just gonna do the 10K run. We did it two years ago, and it was a piece o' cake... then again, we had been training for a couple months. This year, however, not so much.

Okay, so Jim n' I have been going out for little 3K runs off n' on since the spring, so hopefully that should count for something. And yes, Lara and I did manage to fit in a run together a few weeks ago. But since then, the only running I've been doing is being run down with a cold, and running to the tissue box to blow my runny nose. Not to mention, I've barely had the opportunity to leave the house as every waking moment lately has been consumed with le script... which might explain why I haven't been able to shake this darn cold - I've been working too hard. (Or at least that's what non-medical sources have told me.)

Anyhoo, so now there's only about a week left before the 10K and I haven't been training at all. Although Lara tells me that she hasn't been training much either, so at least I'll be in comfortable company... or perhaps I should say uncomfortable company, as I'm sure we'll be hobbling along to the bitter end together.

Oh well, we're not in it to win it. I just want another one of those fancy medals to toss in the spare bedroom closet, to compensate for all those pathetic green participation ribbons I "earned" in grade school.  Hey, I had asthma! Ha. Plus, I was always more of an artist, than an athlete. Nothing wrong with that, right? ;)

The other thing is, I haven't bothered to get any sponsors. I didn't solicit sponsors the last time I did it two years ago, because that year I also did the 5K Run for the Cure a couple weeks earlier, so I didn't want to be asking everyone to sponsor me for both.

So... (I'm sure you can see where this is going...), if you're feeing generous, it's for a wonderful cause -- the Sunshine Dreams for Kids Foundation.

In case the name isn't obvious, the Sunshine Dreams for Kids Foundation fulfills the dreams of children with severe physical disabilities or life-threatening illnesses.

And just to soften you up, I wanted to share some of the testimonials from their website, which nearly brought a tear to my eye...

"It was a trip of a lifetime for Dominic. The chance to visit his grandmother and experience her love first hand has made a world of a difference."


Doesn't that just break your heart? The little guy's dream was to visit his grandma!

Oh great... Now my eyes are starting to get watery.

Forget it. If you want to see the other testimonials, you can visit the site yourself. Otherwise, I'm just gonna be sitting here blubbering to myself on the couch.

Alright. So you can sponsor me here, and you'll be sent a tax receipt n' everything.

Of course there really is no pressure. Times are tough for a lot of people right now, and I totally understand. Besides, I've already sponsored myself on top of the fee to participate, and I'm sure a good chunk of that registration fee must go towards the cause.

So yeah... donate or don't. It's all good either way.