"Go Commando" Race!!

Okay peoples--the morning of June 25th saw a certain WWV employee careening over hay bales, getting down severely steep hills w/o incident, kangarooing over fire, wading through the end of a lake, and going down a huge water chute thing that flung people into a wet, muddy, sandy area.

Words to describe it?

IT WAS A BLAST!!!!!!!  

Pictures will follow later, unless you want to like the Go Commando race page on Facebook, then you can see a bunch of pics right there.  =)  For now, the official picture-takers of the event (Marathonfoto), are still sifting through thousands of pics, getting the sorted and put in the right place.  Have been able to locate a few of me...but you'll just have to wait for a few weeks.  

If you have never done an adventure race, please consider doing so!  You do not have to be in spectacular shape--the Go Commando was a race for all people.  There was a fire pit, water chute slide, mud pit, two water pits, a maze thing on the side of a hill, a hay bale mountain, a lake to wad through, cargo net crawl, etc.  

So. Much. Fun!!!

So much fun, in fact, that I went through the course three times!  I mean, how often do you get the chance to go down a water chute while people are laughing at the expression on your face (okay, so maybe it got me down the hill just a smidge faster than expected...lol).  How often do you get to duck over those giant spools found in fields and such??  

Add to the atmosphere free hotdogs, and awesome band, and the opportunity to meet new people and have a blast doing so--'twas great.  Definitely an even to repeat!  =)

On my third time around the track (don't worry, I asked several people if I could go multiple times--given that this was not a chip timed event, no one minded), a volunteer asked if I was repeating the track for fitness or because I was training for something else.  Answer?  Yes.  Fitness is wonderful, but there are four more races on the horizon.

Why?

Because I went to Haiti in January and had my heart stolen by cute kids.  Cute kids right now who are worried about drinking their water because they know there are germs that might make them sick.  : (  

ALL of my running this summer is dedicated to those kids.  They thirst so I run.  They are worried about clean water, so I run.  

So what do running and kids worrying about water in Haiti have to do with each other?  Well--with supporter help, WWV can buy water systems that provide clean water to thousands of people per day!!!  Pretty neat, huh?  WWV, however, cannot grow money on trees--we depend on supporter help to bring these water systems into Haiti.  That's where you come in.

Go to the donation page of our website by clicking HERE, and either sponsor my running on the appropriate line, or put money towards water systems.  People are getting sick now.  People are dying now.  People need water NOW.  And so I run.

Oh, c'mon--what are you waiting for??

  

We updated the website!!

Okay people, one day and counting until the second race of the season: the Go Commando is tomorrow!

What?  What's wrong with the name--the commandos it is referencing are military commandos.  Quit your giggling.

This is a 5K race with *gulp* 10 obstacles!!  These obstacles, lovingly called "adventures" by their website, include (and yes, I took this text from their site, full credit goes to them):

"Hay Fever Ridge- a climb over bales of hay.  The adventure starts with rectangular bales placed next to large, round bales of hay.  Up, over and down!

The Serpent- a serpentine path up the side of a hill. The path has been mowed through the 3.5 ft high prairie grass.

Black Holes- a climb through 48” black conduit pipe.

Log Jam- a neatly stacked pile of storm-downed trees.

Minefield- a field of car tires to jog through.

Into the Wild- a run up, run down, run up, run down through rows of pine trees on a surface of pine needles. The rows form a switch-back effect for both exercise and the excitement of watching others switch back and forth as you too navigate the obstacle.

Fire in the Hole- running down a path, hopping over some burning logs.

Swamp Commando- a watery adventure.

Run the Sahara- running over several natural mounds of sand up the side of a hill.

Over the Falls- a water slide down the side of a hill three adventures before the finish."

It's official.  All runners of this race are crazy...though it seems a little tame compared to the Warrior Dash that is less than a month away!!  Have you signed up to volunteer for WWV at the Warrior Dash yet?  Email me for info.  : )

TO SPONSOR A  RUNNER IN THIS RACE (SHAMELESS HINTING HAPPENING HERE!!!!!!!) GO TO THE DONATION PAGE OF WWW.WORLDWIDEVILLAGE.ORG AND SCROLL TO THE LINE THAT SAYS "RACE SPONSORSHIPS".   ENTER THE AMOUNT YOU WILL SPONSOR ME FOR, AND MY NAME (OR SOMEONE ELSE IN THE RACE).  ALL PROCEEDS FROM RACE SPONSORSHIPS FOR ME GO TOWARDS WATER SYSTEMS IN HAITI!! 

Running for water

So I run. A lot. Blame a good friend of mine from college--he got me hooked on running last summer and now I'm addicted. Six races total this summer (if you know of a good one in the Twin Cities area, let me know...especially if it is an adventure race):

1. May 9th - Hoofin' It For Haiti 5K 
2. June 25th - Go Commando 5K (obstacle race)
3. July 23rd - Warrior Dash 5K (obstacle race--World Wide Village is sponsoring this race, for information on how to volunteer and help us raise $1,000, email me at nromness@worldwidevillage.org)
4. August 21st - Minneapolis 13.1 (half marathon)
5. August 27th - Rugged Maniac 5K (obstacle race)
6. October 2 - Twin Cities Marathon

Obstacle races are a blast--challenging in a different way than just running on a paved course. When I started running last year, my dear brother--Daniel--asked me "Why? A bear isn't chasing you and neither am I, so why would you do that?"

I run because it helps overall health (sleeping, immune system, etc), because God gave me working legs, because this chica is a tad highstrung and it is a way to get energy out. But I mainly run because it is a way to raise money.

As it says all over this blog, I work for World Wide Village, an organization that works towards the transformation of impoverished communities. Right now our geographical focus is in Haiti, and the stories about the water situation down there right now are absolutely heart breaking.

Imagine having to decide between not drinking and dying of dehydration, or drinking and potentially contracting and dying of cholera. This is the situation many Haitian people are in as I type this post. It is rainy season again in that beautiful country. Soil integrity has been compromised by years of bad agricultural practices and now that soil is washing down the sides of hills, taking with it peoples' homes and lives. Cholera is on the rise again as flooding and poor sanitation contaminates whatever sources of water might be available.

Cholera is a waterborne bacteria that draws water out of one's cells faster than the body can replenish hydration. It is lethal, particularly as rampant malnutrition robs the body's immune system of the ability to wage war against this very nasty bacteria. Access to clean water is critical to prevent the spread of cholera and combat current infections. Sadly, many people in Haiti do not have access to this clean water.

In the U.S., we worry about trace amounts of pharmaceuticals in our water that may impact our mood over long periods of time. In Haiti, they worry that their water might kill them.

World Wide Village is able to bring water purification systems into Haiti that can purify enough water for hundreds of people daily. It does this by producing a substance called chloride--a capful of which when placed in the grubbiest water you can imagine kills all bacteria and makes the water completely safe to drink. Seriously--Randy Mortensen, President of WWV, put some chloride produced by this system in water taken from a nearby ditch and drank it and was perfectly fine.

Here is the crux of this post--people are dying from a disease that is easily prevented, we just need to get water systems into Haiti. For that, we need to raise the funds to buy the systems. For that, I am running.

This summer it is my goal to run/spin (stationary bike cycling thing at the gym) 400 miles between June 1 and the day of the Twin Cities Marathon (October 2--by the way, the miles of the marathon totally count towards that goal). Yeah yeah yeah, that's a big goal, but it is to combat a bigger problem. A friend of mine invited me to a biking challenge of similar length during the summer months, but no bike is in this lady's possession. I do have two working legs, however, and a passion to raise money to get water systems into Haiti.

I am looking for sponsors to come along side my running by sponsoring miles. Do you want to sponsor me for a particular race, or for the entire distance? Do you want to sponsor me at 10 or 100 cents per mile (or even at 1,000 cents per mile...that'd be pretty sweet too)? Each water system costs $500 (125 cents per mile). Only $500 is necessary to guarantee clean water to hundreds of people per day! Of course you can always go to the "Donate Now" page of the WWV website by clicking HERE and donate for a water system, that would be amazing as well!

People are dying now. We need more water systems in Haiti now. Won't you help? Email me at nromness@worldwidevillage.org for more info.

Imagine if this were your source of water. The water systems that we

can bring in to Haiti, with your help, can make this water drinkable!!

Do you know your wealth?

So I've been back from a week in Haiti for well over five months now, though some could argue that I never left that Caribbean island. For a few weeks after returning, my husband and our roommate would say my body might be back in MN, but my heart and head was in Haiti. To a certain extent it still is.

By the way, here is an awesome video that WWV interns currently on the ground in Haiti (lucky ducks) put together--it shows our guesthouse in Port au Prince!! AND click here to see where on our website you can see the interns blogging about their experience while spending the summer in Haiti.

How do you leave a country that captures you? The simple answer is that you don't. Haiti will always be a part of my thoughts, actions taken, decisions made, etc.

It took longer to adjust to being back in the Cities than it did to adjust to being in Haiti. First, the roads are lots nicer here (despite the fact that a pothole bent the wheel on my car, it didn't swallow my car like many Haitian potholes are more than capable of doing...but you need a working infrastructure in order to keep up a roadway, and that is a topic for a different post).

One of the first things I did was take a nice hot shower...and then nearly start crying at the thought that the water I was using to get clean was better for drinking than water most Haitians currently have access to. The next day, however, the biggest shock of returning home was to hit--complaining.

The Bible says several different times and ways not to complain. How can we complain when the Creator of the Universe is for us, standing beside us each step of each day, caring about our individual cares in the midst of a giant world of concerns/cares/illness, etc. God has it all figured out. He clothes the lilies of the valley in splendor we can only dream of (assignment for the day: go outside and look at a flower. Really look at it. Appreciate how each petal is attached, the veins carrying nutrients to leaves and stems. Simply amazing.) Why should we complain?

We complain because life interrupts and slaps us with things we think we cannot handle. Complaint leads to worry. We worry because we are unhappy, because we think things might go wrong, because we lack trust in God. We worry because we are human creatures made for divine purposes dealing with the matters of a carnal world. We worry because life is hard. God sees it, and raises the world a "I've got it covered."

This little rant has a purpose, I promise. After getting back from Haiti, it struck me how much, as a society, we complain. "The microwave turned our food into a prop for a horror movie. That awful driver in front of me is going too slow. Bobby didn't ask me to the prom. My nail broke"....whine whine whine. Now, this isn't to diminish the fact that life is hard--that is an inescapable truth. Everyone has their struggles and difficult times. But I was hit between the eyes with the difference between the kind of worry experienced by those who have plenty and those who are grateful for each drop of clean water.

Everywhere you look in Haiti, people are grateful to God for the little they have. They do not have much, but they are extremely grateful for everything they do have. A tarp to shade them from the sun is a reason to praise God. That they made it through another day without being hit by traffic is a reason to praise God. That their chests still rise and fall with the intake of air indicating the presence of life is reason to praise the source of life. Complaints are present as well, but it is amazing how little one can complain when every waking moment is spent simply surviving. The strength of the people, the hope on their faces, and the appreciation of the basics is something we should all admire and emulate. I have never seen Jesus more than when being with the Haitian people.

After working at McDonald's for a summer, I decided it should be mandatory for all young people to work in food service for at least a month (why people harass those serving them food is beyond me). After working with a group home company for over a year, I decided all should have a basic understanding of medical terminology and what it is like to do direct care for another individual. After going to Haiti for a week, I've officially decided (alert the presses) that EVERYONE should go to a third-world country for at least a week. Heck, for at least a month! A week is barely enough to get your toes wet in the pool of another culture.

Please prayerfully consider going to Haiti. Go to other posts on this blog to see what it was like when I went in January (place seen, people met, children held, etc). Chances are if you talk to me, you'll hear about Haiti at some point within a few minutes--the country and people are captivating, and I am passionate about getting people into the country.

As we say in the office, if you think you may want to go to Haiti at some point...go to Haiti! If you have heard of the country and it sounds remotely interesting...go to Haiti! If you live in a cold place and it is winter and the snow has finally gotten to you...go to Haiti!! World Wide Village does an amazing job with teams. Check out our website: www.worldwidevillage.org and see how else you might be able to get involved, even if you don't want to go to Haiti....but seriously, who can resist the opportunity to go to a Caribbean island for a week, do some good, and experience God in a whole new way?

(By the way, Dahmon and I sponsor the adorable little boy in the bottom right of the above picture. His name is Bigue and I got to meet him while in Haiti. Simply one of the most adorable children I've ever met. Do you want to sponsor a child in one of our schools in Haiti? Let me know--it's only $28 per month! Sponsorship means the child has access to education, food while in school, has the uniform and shoes necessary to attend class, etc...and you could meet him or her if you *cough hint cough* GO TO HAITI! Seriously--I'm not gonna give up on this. Let me know when you want me to help get you to Haiti!!)