Why Do I Run?

Lately, on Twitter and Facebook, many of my friends have made comments about “Wow, you run a lot!” or “Is all you do run?”

This is for you.

Yep, I run a lot.  It didn’t used to be that way.  Let me explain.

In high school, I was fat. Some people knew me then and can vouch for that. This isn’t a sob story at all.  As a sophomore in high school, I was at 240.  By the time I graduated, I had dropped a little bit by being more active in playing baseball my senior season.  I entered college at 225.  I simply didn’t want to be at that weight.  My senior year, I would go to the middle school track in my town and run a mile or so.  I can remember going and running a mile in 7:48 in the spring of 2004.  It was the fastest I could squeeze one out.  And of course, after that I was so spent I couldn’t do anything else.

I got to college and was able to get a job at FedEx Ground. From the beginning of September to the end of September, my body became used to moving for 5 hours straight in the back of a truck.  I lost 20-25 lbs. in the first month of working there. I eventually moved into being more active and got down to right about 200 lbs. and stayed there for a while.

The summer of 2005, as I was more active, I began to run more.  It’d be two miles, one mile, mile and a half; that was all.  I began to read online about 5k’s and races and running and it piqued my interest. I began to go running regularly. I would go up to the same middle school track and run. When I did a mile time trial on June 3, 2005 (the day before my niece was born…only reason I remember the date is because as soon as I got done, I got the call that we had to travel to ATL for her birth on the 4th). I ran that mile in 6:18.  That’s a huge change.  1:30 in a little over a year.  Weight helps.  I began to run 3 miles at a time or so. Total miles for 2005 = 62.5.

When I got back to college, I ran 4 miles one Sunday night and thought I would die.  It was horrible. I continued to run 3-3.5 miles throughout the next college school year on occasion. By April 2006, I had started a new job working at the Hilton downtown Nashville, Tennessee which happens to be the headquarters for the Country Music Marathon.  I was still running often, reading the magazines, and keeping up with the sport. The atmosphere on Friday before the marathon was so ridiculous.  I was hooked. That afternoon, after never running more than 3.5 miles, I started running.  I ran.  7 miles.  I hurt horribly the next day, but I was hooked. The atmosphere was amazing. I continued to run throughout the year.

In August 2006, my father began to experience some chest pains.  At the doctor’s request, he checked in and they performed a five bypass surgery. It was a scary time, but amazing to see God through quick recovery, as well as through friends. Dad recovered great. Before we left the hospital, the surgeon came in to check on him in his regular room (he was out of ICU post-surgery a full day before the normal time…God’s hand) and essentially just old the entire family that heredity had everything to do with it. It was at that point, I realized I had to do something.  I was 20 years old at the time and it was scary to think of my future like that.

The year continued with a few more miles here and there. On Thanksgiving day, three years ago today, I got a call from my wife (just a friend at the time) and she said, “Did you hear about G?” G was a friend of my roommate’s, and he had become a friend of mine. Gerald Lynn Turner was the student body president of the college we attended. While playing football on Thanksgiving with his wife’s family in Florida, he dove after someone to tackle them and never got up off the ground.  His heart stopped.  He had been married 2 months and working as a youth pastor at his home church in Mississippi.  It was scary, again.

At that point, I had decided I had to do something.  I was going to run the Country Music Marathon in 2007.  I got my buddy Alan Skiles to run with me.  We started training around Christmas.  I had it in my head that we were running for G. When we got back to school, I talked to a teacher and a scholarship was set up.  It was official, we were running for G. 2006 total miles = 304.8 miles.

2007 rolled around by running 4 runs a week.  Alan and I trained and trained and trained. We raised money for the scholarship for the G foundation that was set up.  April rolled around and the marathon hit.  Alan and I had no idea how to run or train or any of it, but I finished in 4:16:32.  I crossed the finish line with tears in my eyes.  I had accomplished what I had seen as impossible for me in high school.  I had run a marathon.  It was an amazing feeling.  My mother was there.  My girlfriend (wife now) was there.  I just stood and talked with tears in my eyes.  The rest of the day was filled with amazing feelings.  I lived on that high and was hooked.  

For the rest of the year I ran here and there.  I was close to 400 miles in April.  The summer came and I did a youth ministry internship.  I got back to college and ran here and there.  But, when it finally rolled around to December, I knew it meant I had to run more in order to get to the finish line faster. In the mean time, in September 2007, I took my first trip ever to Haiti. To say the least, I was moved. The quality of life embarrassed me at how selfish I had been. The love of the people convinced me that I don’t love enough. Something needed to happen. 2007 total miles = 698.3

2008 rolled around and suddenly I was running more.  It was 5 days a week.  In March, I ran a 15k where I finished 18th overall with a 1:07:55 – a 7:16 pace.  Say what?  Three years prior, I couldn’t run one mile at 7:16 pace, let alone 9.3.  The spring was great.  April rolled around. I ran by myself this time.  My mom and girlfriend were there for me and saw me at different places, along with Alan who was unable to run and his girlfriend, who turned into his wife.  It was a struggle, but the training paid off as I crossed the line in 3:57:50.  It was awesome!

While training, I sent out letters and MySpace notices that I was raising money for Haiti.  Of course I called it…Run 4 Haiti.  That year, I had a few donations that totaled about $300. I ran for them.

It was awesome until I realized that I was capable of more.  You see, there are runner-people who have figured out that based on shorter races times what you should be capable to run at other distances.  Based on my 15k time, I knew that I was capable of running faster than what I did.  The answer?  Run more.  In fact, the saying on the website that taught me how to run from a group of amazing runners that congregate there is this: Run lots. Mostly easy. Sometimes hard. It began to make sense.  The more you run…the more your body thanks you for it. 

I graduated college in May 2008 and moved to New Castle, Indiana.  I ran a little bit each week after the move. I returned to Haiti in September 2008.  I was moved even more.  This time, I felt that God really wanted me to do something for Haiti.  I felt like I was involved.  Suddenly, I came back and Mountain Faith Mission of Haiti was almost life to me.  I built a website and began to do whatever I could.  

Running wise, well, Run 4 Haiti was essentially born a little over a year ago on the web.  I ran a 5k last fall in 20:18 – a 6:33 pace – who’d a thunk?  I ran a 4 miler last December in 27:02.  I just ran.  A year ago next week I began a streak of running at least 50 miles a week.  A year from Saturday, I began to run every day (a streak which broke on August 22 when I left for Haiti after 264 days). Total miles for 2008 = 1684.9.  It was a significant difference and my mileage increase showed through my better times.

2009 rolled around and suddenly I had this running thing down.  In March I ran a half marathon in 1:34:21 – a 7:13 pace…the numbers just kept getting smaller.  I toed the line for Nashville’s marathon hoping to run a 3:25, but mother nature heated up and was a punk.  But, I still crawled in at 3:50 – a 7 minute improvement simply because of the training.  The summer brought a lot of busy-ness.  Marriage, youth trips, travels, so the mileage decreased.  

Haiti 2009 really did something though. As I had mentioned, I felt like a part of something bigger.  Since then, my work with MFM has manifested itself in new ways.  

The fall brought a 5k with a 25 second improvement.  It was a 19:53.  I broke 20…that’s crazy.

And so, now it’s Thanksgiving.  I find myself reflecting today on what I’m thankful for: family, friends, church, job, God, finances, etc.

But really, I’m thankful for running.  This really long post is really what my life is about a lot of days.  Yes, I love to run.  I run lots of miles.  In fact, after today, my total for the year will be 2018 miles.  But it’s what motivates me that I’m thankful for.

Health motivates me of course, but Haiti is it.  People pay money for people to do stupid things, like run.  And I want to do those stupid things because I enjoy it.

MFM has use for money of course.  It’s a poverty-stricken country.  I don’t ask for money for my benefit, but I ask for money for those people in Haiti that I know can use it.  The Sandia’s who was just happy when I gave her a ball-point pen for school.  The Milan’s who called herself my sister at VBS this year, laughing, and then with a serious look asked me if I was taking her back home with me since she was my sister.  And for the Jean-Bofet’s, who live in the orphanage that MFM runs.  What does money bring?  It just brings the ability for God’s work to be done.  It makes their life easier.  It changes the life through others.  The missionaries there want to change life’s both spiritually and physically.  It just happens.  But, it doesn’t happen unless someone gives.  It doesn’t happen unless Christians give.

That’s what I want to motivate. I want to motivate those people who think, “Man, you’re stupid because you run so much…” to give.  It does so much. In fact, if there’s a specific way and area that you want to give…then I’ll make sure it gets done.  

But that’s why I run.  I run for them.

Back Into The Swing Of Things

I’m trying to get back to increasing my mileage. Monday – 8, Tuesday – 9.  That’s a huge change for me from the summer.  Surprisingly, my legs feel better than they would during 5k training.  Funny how that works.

I’ve yet to decide on a spring marathon.  The one I originally wanted to run (Springfield, Ill) has changed to May.  I don’t want to risk a stinkin’ heat wave meltdown again, so I was looking to early April.  Who knows?  I’ll keep looking.

Other than that, I’ve begun to brainstorm the ways I can go about actually trying to raise money this year. VBS costs went up dramatically this year.  Normally it cost $5000 for the week to feed all of the people and other expenses for VBS (this is all the cost to actually execute VBS – I remind you that those of us who take a trip down there for the week pay for our own food, transportation, plus some more to pay our translators and other people…).  This year at VBS, the cost pushed $7000.  Who knows for next year.  I made a small dent last year in that cost.  I mean, I didn’t push or publicize the way that I possibly could have.  I could have done more.

I don’t like asking for money.  I really don’t.  It might come from the fact that I’m as cheap as they come.  As Lindsey and I are trying to get out of debt, I don’t want to buy ANYTHING.  I’m even willing to give up groceries.  But, I recognize that when someone does stupid things, such as run marathons and enjoy it, people are willing to thrown money at it.  I’m just in the middle of trying to figure out how to go from making a dent, to contributing huge numbers.  Not for the sake of “Oh, look how much I raised…” but for the sake of “Oh, look how much we can give!”  

I’d thought about seeing the possibility of having a 5k in my town in order to raise money.  That’s one thought.  I mean, who knows?  The other is of course to go about it the same as I did last year, but this year to actually email and snail mail packets of information to churches.  I have tons of ideas, I just don’t know how to go about executing all of them.  

Anyone have Donald Trump’s number?

Things Learned

I could type for hours about things I learned in Haiti.  I was only there a week, and I learned a lot, even this past week.  I can only imagine how much people who live there full time know and understand.  

Anyways, the power of God.  They understand.

The power of prayer.  They understand. 

The necessity for evangelism.  They understand.

The need for help – they understand.  But sometimes, I wonder, in the midst of all these things, how much Americans understand.

The first three, I could type for hours about the American church (including the one in which I work) and how most people are clueless when it comes to such facts.  But I want to focus on the need to help.  

In 2007, as I flew into Haiti, I wondered why I was there.  The filth and poverty was overwhelming.  But as I got to our compound in Saut d’Eau – 45 miles north, it hit me why.  There is a need.  There are people that must help.  But, the answer is not the typical American answer of “throw money at it.”  Instead, careful thought and consideration must be taken on how to help friends in Haiti.

Mountain Faith Mission is 100% evangelical efforts combined with 99.9% humanitarian efforts.  I say that to let people know that our mission is simply that – a mission work.  The first and foremost thing for MFM is to focus on evangelism of the local people.  But, combined with that, it’s there to help improve the life of the people in villages and churches that we work in.

Giving money to the people directly will not improve a lot of their life.  I mean, yes, it will improve it, but many times, seeing their need, I recognize the fact that there are so many things that need to be done.

This Guy Is Going To Haiti…

As of right now, I have bought my ticket to Haiti to leave on August 22.  My flight leaves Indianapolis at 6:00 am on the 22nd and after going to Chicago and Miami, I will land in Port-au-Prince at approximately 3:40 pm.  I am hoping to squeeze through onto some other earlier flights if possible because I think I’m the last person from our group to arrive.

While there, we’ll be holding out annual VBS.  This year will also be a big year because the original founder of MFM will be down there at the young age of 99 years old on the 23rd.  

Our theme is going to be Christ in the Old Testament.  I am trying to get four different topics together to divvy out to our teachers to be prepped to teach each day.  So far, I have decided that I will be teaching on the Passover and not only how it points towards Christ, but how Christ celebrated it with his disciples.

I am totally looking forward to it.  If you’re interested in going or supporting our VBS this year, please don’t hesitate to ask how you can go or support.  For those of you who’d like, check out our PayPal site and donate.

Look In Their Eyes

Well, here’s the new video.  After a little bit of time, I’m impressed with it. Please tell me what you think. If you want to get more involved, just leave a message here and I’ll contact you by email. This is an awesome ministry and an awesome chance to get involved with something much bigger than yourself. So, here she is:

Let’s Get Involved!

So, we’ve got about 12 weeks til the marathon, which I guess is the big race of the spring for r4h.  With all that said, this morning I have been working on informational stuff to send out to churches.  I need help with that.  I need your help for support.  Whether you can donate the $26 for the race in support of r4h, or you can help me by getting your Sunday School class, youth group, or church to open up the package and see if you can take up an offering, have a fundraiser, or anything, it’d be great!

This is such an awesome ministry (Mountain Faith Mission – r4h is just a way to get people to support me while I’m stupid enough to run in the snow) that YOU can be a part of.  The people of Haiti need help, simply put.  The thought of giving $26 can go so far in a place where most people might make $30 a month.  

So, here it is – I need a street team or something.  If you’d be interested in helping out by pushing for support – getting your class, group, church, whatever to take a look at MFM and say, “Yeah, we’ll support!  We’ll donate a one time gift of $x or we’ll send $x for every mile.”  The thing is, there are hundreds of things you can do to help out, and I really need you. 

One single youth pastor in Indiana can do something for sure.  I can send letters to people I know begging for money.  I can send copies of the video to churches to try to stir their hearts.  I can post pictures on a website, email emotional pictures to people to stir their heart strings…but imagine how much a single youth pastor in Indiana…and you can accomplish.  This isn’t for our boasting, but it is for the glory of the Lord.  So I am begging and pleading with you to email me if you can help out.  I have a packet ready I can email you and you can print off.  I have pictures and video waiting to enter the doors of your church or organization to stir the hearts of God’s people.  

Will you help?

If so, email me NOW!!!!!

What to do?

I’m no marketing professional.  I don’t have a clue how to bring attention to Run 4 Haiti.  A blog – check.  A facebook group – check.  I hate the thought of personally approaching people and asking for money, but that’s about the only thing I know to do.  I love Haiti.  I love raising money for Haiti.  I love running.  I hate marketing.  Anyone have any ideas about how to draw people on board?  How do you draw people to join your cause, either financially or to actually run?  

Just asking questions and seriously looking for answers.  No idea is wrong!  Help me out!