Race Details!
Weather: The temperature at the start was a mere 34 degrees, yet despite two straight days of cold rain there was no precipitation on race day, and runners were greeted with many moments of sunshine peeking through the autumn folliage surrounding the beautiful race course.
The Starting Line: It turned out to be quite a challenge for thousands of runners to make it to the starting line due to some traffic problems on one of the exit ramps leading to the race location. Fortunately for me, one of the 68 amazing LSA volunteers who arrived before the crack of dawn to set-up water stations volunteered to park my car so that I could make it to the starting line. Thank you, Doug!! In addition, the race start time was delayed by 15 minutes due to the traffic situation, allowing just enough time for some of the team members who were running together to find each other with despite the hectic start. It was an incredible experience to take off with 6,400 other runners down the narrow streets at Fort Benjamin Harrison, a former military base turned state park.
Along the 13.1 Mile Way: Along the course we met many wonderful people, including a man with a shirt that read “Pray For Linda” who was running 4 half marathons on behalf of his co-worker who had just been diagnosed with cancer.
One of the most challenging stretches of the race was mile 8, when I knew I still had 5 miles to go yet was developing an side stitch. Fortunately, my wonderful friend and teammate Julie lent me her sweatshirt to tie around my waist (see finish line photo!) to put slight pressure on the cramp, a strategy that is definitely not in the running textbooks but has helped me in the past. Mile 10 was a new challenge, when my side stitch had subsided but mentally it was difficult to convince myself (and my legs) that I could keep running for 30 more minutes particularly given the two very long hills which I could see looming on the horizon.
In addition, this was an emotional run for me in light of the cause we are supporting and out of intense feelings of gratitude for the overwhelming amount of love and encouragement I have received from friends and family from the very beginning stages of my training. There was one point on the course when we rounded the corner upon a serene lakefront and I literally started choking up with tears. I quickly learned in that moment that crying did not make for a safe combination with cold air temperature and my increased breathing pattern, and I fortunately was able to pull myself together and save the tears for the finish line.
What helped me the most during these difficult stages was knowing that so many cared for and were praying for me and my team, and the incredibly vivid picture of each and every one of my supporters surrounding me and pushing me towards the finish line.
Crossing the Finish Line: It was an especially heartfelt moment when my team crossed the finish to be greeted on the sidelines by our fellow team member, Steve, and his wife and children. Steve had been told just two weeks prior that he had colon cancer, and he joined us at the finish line to share in our Team LSA celebration as well as to rejoice as a team family in the moment we had all been praying for - due to early detection and the grace of God, our friend and teammate is now completely cancer free.
Thank you again for all the ways you have come alongside in sharing in this amazing experience with me. I am forever grateful for your involvement in my life.
With love,
Anne
Your donation:
- $9 provides a child with anti-retroviral drugs (ARVs) for a month
- $15 enables Lily of the Valley, an LSA partner, to provide an HIV/AIDS test
- $20 will enable Metro Africa to reach 20 children of the next generation through Sunday school outreach for one week
- $60 will fund one Life Skills course to equip community leaders in South Africa, provided by World Changes Academy, an LSA partner
- $81 will fund a leadership scholarship for a high school student
- $90 will allow Makaphutu Children's Village to care for an orphan for one month
- $100 will treat one child with life-saving ARVs for a year
If you are able to contribute any amount, you may donate at http://www.firstgiving.com/annemisner or mail a check made out to “Loving South Africa” to me at 1222 Pawtucket Drive, Westfield IN 46074.
Running for a Great Cause
Team LSA participates in athletic events in order to raise awareness and funds for
Loving South Africa (LSA). LSA is zooming in on the AIDS epicenter of the world and loving accurately the AIDS sufferers in Kwazulu Natal, South Africa, through strategic partnerships with 7 grass root ministries (in education/prevention, testing, treatment, evangelism, hospice and orphan care) who are impacting lives in this region.
Help Over There vs. Right Here at Home
I was asked recently about why I chose to be involved with Team LSA when there is so much need right here in our own backyard. It was a wonderful question and worthy of consideration. While I can’t say if you should be involved, too, I’d like to share with you why I am and will be.
No Shortage of Problems at Home
It’s true that we have a myriad of problems right here in our own “backyard” and I know that many of us are already at work locally against poverty and social injustice. Together we can make an impact one life at a time, yet it also seems that the work here at home will never be done. I’ve made the personal decision to join others in not waiting to be “done” with my work in local outreach ministries before I also start helping in other places of great need.
Whose Backyard?
The inspiration for me is the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. Jesus made a real statement and expanded the definition of “neighbor” when He taught us to “go and do the same” as a much-disliked Samaritan man, who went out of his way to help someone who was very much outside of his “neighborhood,” having come from a different ethnicity, religion, race and culture.
Today, I see my “neighbors” in South Africa being buried upright in mass graves due to the fact that AIDS death rate is so extreme. This is occurring in their own backyards and in those of surrounding African nations, and as a result the truly local “backyards” can’t offer the help that is so desperately needed in these areas. In response, I am committed to adopting South Africa as my “backyard.”
Your Neighborhood
By supporting me in my race, many of you are helping to save lives along with the partners of Loving South Africa. Every bit can contribute to making a huge impact.
THE AIDS PANDEMIC AND WHAT WE CAN DO TO HELP:
It really is difficult to overstate the suffering that HIV has caused in S. Africa:
- Nearly 50% of all deaths in South Africa, and a staggering 71% of deaths among those aged 15 to 49, are caused by AIDS.
- At the end of 2007, there were approximately 5.7 million people living with HIV in South Africa, and almost 1,000 AIDS deaths occurring every day.
- South Africans spend more time at funerals than they do having their hair cut, shopping or having barbecues. Studies also show that more than twice as many people had been to a funeral in the past month than had been to a wedding.
I’ve included few more statistics below in the hopes that you will take some time to read them in order to get an even greater understanding of the reality of this pandemic.
(Statistics below are taken from a 2007 study.)
- 18% of all South Africans are infected with HIV/AIDS, which is the 4th highest prevalence in the world. The other top 5 countries with the highest HIV/AIDS prevalence are all neighbors of South Africa
- 1 in 6 people in the world with HIV/AIDS are South African.
- Only 28% of people in South Africa with advanced HIV/AIDS are receiving anti-retroviral treatment.
South African children are particularly affected by HIV/AIDS:
- With many women who are HIV-positive still not receiving drugs that could prevent them passing HIV to their babies, HIV infections are alarmingly common amongst children in South Africa. According to UNAIDS, there were around 280,000 children living with HIV in South Africa.
- Schools have fewer teachers because of the AIDS epidemic. According to a 2006 study, 21% of teachers in South Africa have HIV
- There were 1.4 million HIV/AIDS orphans in South Africa in 2007, compared to 780,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in 2003. By 2010 the number is estimated to increase to approximately 3 million. Once orphaned, these children are more likely to face poverty, poor health and lack of access to education.