Fun Run at the NDSC Conference!

Last April my brother talked me into doing a half marathon with him.  I though that was an insane but needed a project so started running. I started by doing a mile.  One mile.  I ended up running three half-marathons last year, in June, September, and October.  I’m not fast, finish line videos prove I’m not graceful (my brother sent me a youtube video of a lumbering bear once, for comparison. Ah, family), and I’ve found that “runner’s high” to be annoyingly elusive.  Sometimes I have petulant little arguments with myself when debating if I should stop eating, get off the comfy couch, & put on my running shoes.  But at the end of the run, any run, I do feel terribly self-satisfied.  Smug even.  HA!  LOOK WHAT I JUST DID.  Take that couch-girl! 

At every race I saw other folks running as a team for various good causes, in matching T-shirts.  There was a girl with CP who ran a 5K with her dad and a guy in a wheelchair at the September race.  I thought it would exceedingly cool if *I* had a T-shirt extolling my favorite cause.  And if my knees hold out for a few more years, I look forward to running with my girl.  No limits.  With all the fervor of a new convert, I even emailed some of you, thinking we could find a race to run together, in fancy matching T-shirts, while in DC at the NDSC convention.  But then I got distracted by a sciatica-thingy, Thanksgiving, and back to back to back Winter Festivities.  Couch girl was winning.  And while I'm not quite back down to one mile, it's close.

But Carrie, who I met in September [which she still refers to as an "awful" race but she doesn’t seem to be holding it against me], sent me a fun bit of news:  Research Down Syndrome (RDS) now has a running program, including fun runs.  Perfect!  Motivation AND a good cause!  And what location would better to host a fun run then at the convention of thousands of families they're trying to help?

So I emailed both RDS and the NDSC convention, had a couple of lovely conversations with the powers that be, and we have a green light!  Details are still being hashed out but we're thinking Saturday morning, 7/21/12.  However, RDS needs to gauge the interest level and that's where YOU guys come in.  They're more than happy to sell a couple tech shirts so a few people can go for a short, color-coordinated jog, but if more than the 3 people I'm going to bully into signing up want to do this, then they need a permit, more T-shirts (we had a long conversation about cotton Ts versus tech shirts.  We're good.), cones, balloons, etc. 

I'm not going to extoll the benefits of running - if you run this one mile and sally forth from there, awesome.  If it's not your thing but you come walk with us, just to enjoy the people and morning, and to support the kids, more's the better.  This is just going to be FUN outing, probably from the hotel to the zoo through the park.  It shouldn't be too hot first thing in the morning and what better way to justify that extra muffin at breakfast then knowing you've already stretched your legs? 

Stock photo.  I don't know these people but don't they look HAPPY? 
Bet they had pancakes AND an extra muffin at breakfast.

So if you want to snag a shirt and hang with the cool kids, drop a line to rdsrunners@researchds.org and let them know this was the BEST idea you've ever heard of and can't wait to Race for the Extraordinary.  If you know people who know people, or if you're on FB or the message boards, that would be super fabulous too (since I'm too shy & uncool to join either).  The more runners, the more balloons, and the more muffins at breakfast.  No limits.