Running update from Sally Young
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Brian
Jun 5, 2009, 6:42:54 PM6/5/09
to Chico Running Club
Hi folks,
In all my 7 years of writing Big Ideas, I was never so moved by a
story as I
was with Terry Fox. Maybe having sons that age had something to do
with it.
Doesn't matter, because we all can relate to what this boy was trying
to do,
because we all know exactly what he was saying. I went about 100 words
longer than usual - another thing I haven't done in 7 years - but this
legacy has to continue.
"She Did What?" is what you'll be saying when you finish reading what
she
did, and she did it when she was 26 years old.
"Baby's Got Back" explains why we have butts, segueing nicely to a
prompt
for Run@Work Day, September 18.
Cheers!
*********
What¹s The BIG Idea?
By Sally Young
Email yo-...@cox.net
SHE DID WHAT?
Running is not something that readily comes to mind when we think of
helping
the homeless, but in June 2007, Anne Mahlum, then a policy analyst,
had just
such an epiphany.
During her early morning run in downtown Philadelphia, she would pass
the
same group of homeless men from a nearby shelter who would cheer her
on. One
day, she thought, ³Why am I just waving and not giving my gift [of
running]
to these guys? ...This can help them move their lives forward in a
literal
and figurative way."
Then came that unmistakable surge of energy that announces the twin
births
of insight and vision. With the support of the shelter¹s director, she
organized ³Back On My Feet,² a running club for the homeless -
complete with
a website. On July 3rd, with local media present, Mahlum led nine men,
ages
28-57, outfitted in donated running gear, on a one mile run that ended
with
coffee and donuts one of the incentives made possible by a corporate
contribution.
As of May 2009, BOMF has a $1.1 million budget, and is partnered with
other
organizations to lead qualifying runners through a program of job
training,
scholarship, and housing assistance. www.backonmyfeet.org/
BABY¹S GOT BACK!
Running activates hundreds of genes throughout the body, with a mother
lode
happening in your butt. Here, they dictate the intricate workings of
the
largest muscle in the human body, the gluteus maximus. The butt itself
provides the ballast needed for stability, so we can accelerate while
balancing our forelimbs and trunk on our hindquarters.
Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University studied the activity of this
muscle
in volunteers during a walk and a jog. "When they walk, their glutes
barely
fire up, but when they run, it goes like billy-o," he said.
Our big butt muscles are part of the evolution that separates us from
our
less cheeky primate cousins who never had to chase game for long
distances
in order to survive. We evolved to run. It¹s a theory that holds true
today,
and explains why so many of us are able to cover the distances of a
marathon
and beyond.
Engage your natural ability and invite non-runners to fire up their
glutes
on Friday, September 18th, during the Road Runners Club of America¹s
4th
Annual National Run@Work Day. The RRCA will provide brochures and
posters,
and will post your Run@Work Day event for FREE on the RRCA Calendar at
www.RRCA.org
A FLAGSHIP MISSION: TERRY FOX
He was 18 years old, in 1977, when he learned that the pain in his
knee
wasn¹t just a sports injury, but that he had bone cancer, and in four
days,
his leg would be amputated, 6 inches above the knee.
What happened next stirred the souls of his fellow Canadians, and cut
right
to the heart of a hero¹s story, worldwide.
Terry Fox witnessed so much suffering by children, heard their cries
of
pain, saw the hope in their eyes fade to fear and despair, that his
own
crisis gave way to opportunity. He would run across Canada on a leg of
fiberglass and metal, asking for one dollar from each Canadian,
figuring
³we¹d have $22 million for cancer research² because ³the hurting must
stop.²
He called his journey the ³Marathon of Hope.²
Terry ran 143 consecutive days, covering 3,338 miles in the cold,
heat,
wind, and rain when he asked to be taken to a hospital because of
chest
pains. He had been running with two tumors in his lungs. ³Well, you
know, I
had primary cancer in my knee three and a half years ago, and now the
cancer
is in my lungs, and I have to go home,² he told reporters through
choked-
back tears. Terry slipped into a coma and died June 28, 1981.
The Terry Fox Foundation has since raised over $400 million worldwide
for
cancer research, hosting about 5,500 Terry Fox Runs annually in 30
nations,
in such unlikely places as Syria. This year, the Terry Fox Run will be
Sunday, September 13. ³If you¹ve given a dollar, you are part of the
Marathon of Hope,² Terry said. The mother of Terry Fox will light the
2010
Olympics flame. Go to www.terryfoxrun.org Give a dollar. Be part of
the
young man¹s dream.
*******
Keep running!
Sally Y
In all my 7 years of writing Big Ideas, I was never so moved by a
story as I
was with Terry Fox. Maybe having sons that age had something to do
with it.
Doesn't matter, because we all can relate to what this boy was trying
to do,
because we all know exactly what he was saying. I went about 100 words
longer than usual - another thing I haven't done in 7 years - but this
legacy has to continue.
"She Did What?" is what you'll be saying when you finish reading what
she
did, and she did it when she was 26 years old.
"Baby's Got Back" explains why we have butts, segueing nicely to a
prompt
for Run@Work Day, September 18.
Cheers!
*********
What¹s The BIG Idea?
By Sally Young
Email yo-...@cox.net
SHE DID WHAT?
Running is not something that readily comes to mind when we think of
helping
the homeless, but in June 2007, Anne Mahlum, then a policy analyst,
had just
such an epiphany.
During her early morning run in downtown Philadelphia, she would pass
the
same group of homeless men from a nearby shelter who would cheer her
on. One
day, she thought, ³Why am I just waving and not giving my gift [of
running]
to these guys? ...This can help them move their lives forward in a
literal
and figurative way."
Then came that unmistakable surge of energy that announces the twin
births
of insight and vision. With the support of the shelter¹s director, she
organized ³Back On My Feet,² a running club for the homeless -
complete with
a website. On July 3rd, with local media present, Mahlum led nine men,
ages
28-57, outfitted in donated running gear, on a one mile run that ended
with
coffee and donuts one of the incentives made possible by a corporate
contribution.
As of May 2009, BOMF has a $1.1 million budget, and is partnered with
other
organizations to lead qualifying runners through a program of job
training,
scholarship, and housing assistance. www.backonmyfeet.org/
BABY¹S GOT BACK!
Running activates hundreds of genes throughout the body, with a mother
lode
happening in your butt. Here, they dictate the intricate workings of
the
largest muscle in the human body, the gluteus maximus. The butt itself
provides the ballast needed for stability, so we can accelerate while
balancing our forelimbs and trunk on our hindquarters.
Daniel Lieberman of Harvard University studied the activity of this
muscle
in volunteers during a walk and a jog. "When they walk, their glutes
barely
fire up, but when they run, it goes like billy-o," he said.
Our big butt muscles are part of the evolution that separates us from
our
less cheeky primate cousins who never had to chase game for long
distances
in order to survive. We evolved to run. It¹s a theory that holds true
today,
and explains why so many of us are able to cover the distances of a
marathon
and beyond.
Engage your natural ability and invite non-runners to fire up their
glutes
on Friday, September 18th, during the Road Runners Club of America¹s
4th
Annual National Run@Work Day. The RRCA will provide brochures and
posters,
and will post your Run@Work Day event for FREE on the RRCA Calendar at
www.RRCA.org
A FLAGSHIP MISSION: TERRY FOX
He was 18 years old, in 1977, when he learned that the pain in his
knee
wasn¹t just a sports injury, but that he had bone cancer, and in four
days,
his leg would be amputated, 6 inches above the knee.
What happened next stirred the souls of his fellow Canadians, and cut
right
to the heart of a hero¹s story, worldwide.
Terry Fox witnessed so much suffering by children, heard their cries
of
pain, saw the hope in their eyes fade to fear and despair, that his
own
crisis gave way to opportunity. He would run across Canada on a leg of
fiberglass and metal, asking for one dollar from each Canadian,
figuring
³we¹d have $22 million for cancer research² because ³the hurting must
stop.²
He called his journey the ³Marathon of Hope.²
Terry ran 143 consecutive days, covering 3,338 miles in the cold,
heat,
wind, and rain when he asked to be taken to a hospital because of
chest
pains. He had been running with two tumors in his lungs. ³Well, you
know, I
had primary cancer in my knee three and a half years ago, and now the
cancer
is in my lungs, and I have to go home,² he told reporters through
choked-
back tears. Terry slipped into a coma and died June 28, 1981.
The Terry Fox Foundation has since raised over $400 million worldwide
for
cancer research, hosting about 5,500 Terry Fox Runs annually in 30
nations,
in such unlikely places as Syria. This year, the Terry Fox Run will be
Sunday, September 13. ³If you¹ve given a dollar, you are part of the
Marathon of Hope,² Terry said. The mother of Terry Fox will light the
2010
Olympics flame. Go to www.terryfoxrun.org Give a dollar. Be part of
the
young man¹s dream.
*******
Keep running!
Sally Y
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