Thank you for visiting my Personal Fundraising Page. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Many thanks for your support -- and don't forget to forward this to anyone who you think might want to donate too!

Visit www.indianyouth.org to see the great work that this charity is doing in indian country.

When I first visited the Pine Ridge Reservation in 1992, I was torn between the wonderful people I met there and the condition of poverty in which they live.  Here are a few statistics from "The Arrogance of Ignorance" by Stephanie M. Schwartz.  97% of the people living on Pine Ridge live below the poverty level.  The life expectancy there is almost 30 years less than for the average American.  Teen suicide happens 150% more often and infant mortality rates are 300% greater.  The school drop-out rate is 70% and teacher turnover rate in schools is 8 times that of the average school in this country.  The picture looks bleak.

Here is the paradox.  The Lakota people (and those in indian country in general) are full of hope.  Programs like Running Strong are helping to provide water, housing, community gardens, and uplifting youth programs.  These amazing people need your help in order to provide programs that improve self-sufficiency and self-esteem.

Thank you for any help you can give.

OFFLINE DONORS:  The Church of Uncertain, Mabel & Tom Stewart

TRAINING LOG & THOUGHTS THAT MOTIVATE ME:

Week 16:  42 miles this week.  In the middle of the week, I got to where I didn't want to get out and run.  I read some stories from the www.indianyouth.org website and I felt like I could do this, no matter how sore and tired I was.

Week 17:  Much better week!  16 mile run on Saturday went really well.  I know I have to keep this up; I have 2 groups of people counting on me, now-people that sponsored me and the youth that will benefit from these programs.  Less than 4 months to go.

Weeks 18 & 19:  I thought I was getting either sick or hurt.  Aching hips and back and overall lack of energy.  I backed way off.

Week 20:  14 mile run on Saturday-not too bad.  I finally feel like my training is on pace.

Week 21:  32 mile week.  Running this much is hard.  It is only a small sacrifice that I can make to help improve at least one person's life, one family's living conditions.  How can we close our eyes to the inequalities between the wealth and poverty in this country?  This oppression can end through generosity to empowering programs like running strong.  I feel like I can give of myself until it hurts, so that others can have the health and happiness they deserve.

Week 22:  Recovery week due to attending a conference.

Week 23: Repeated long run from last week.  15 minutes faster.  This is too important to me to not keep improving.

Week 24:  Long run of 12 miles on Saturday.  I found it hard to keep going in the last 4 miles.  Somehow, we have to be resilient in life.  I hope the money I raise will help bring programs to the children that helps them to be resilient.

Week 25:  This was a bit of a fall-back week on mileage.  I added a hill work-out and wasn't as sore as expected.  It did make the training runs feel a bit longer, though.  The water quality from the wells dug on the Pine Ridge Reservation is high quality, but the water from the Missouri River is questionable.  The water well program helps families obtain clean water without having to store it in containers, when pumped from other locations.