On September 7th, we are going to run rim to rim to rim of the Grand Canyon. It's a total of 50 miles with 5,000 feet elevation. That menas we are going to run on trails with either steep incline or decline the entire time. Arizona and the Grand Canyon in September is not known for its cold climate but rather the opposite. It's very unforgiving and we are expecting it to take some 12-15 hours.
As a friend of mine put it "15 hours?! I can't even watch TV for that long!"
"But you're a professional athlete!" someone told me.
True.
For max 25 minutes or less!
This is completely new territory for me.
I've been training for about 3 months and this is something very foreign to me. To build up both the physical endurance and the capability for my muscles and joints to be able to take the constant pounding has been the hardest part, especially for my knees and hips.
So why do this?
Because it is a way to draw attention.
It's a way to raise much needed funds for our non profit.
And it's a way for me to both challenge myself and to show that I'm willing to do whatever it takes to make the changes necessary.
It's also a way for me to show that if you put your mind to it, anything is possible. Mental strength is built, just like you build physical strength and endurance.
I'm going to be writing about it every single day on here. Today is August 14th and for every day that I miss writing, I'm going to be donating $100 myself to the non profit. That's a way to hold myself accountable and hopefully this writing will help generate some funds and perhaps motivate someone else to both take up exercise and to be part of making a difference.
I'm currently looking for sponsors for the run. www.LiamsLife.org is a non profit that promotes organ donation and is working relentlessly to lower the BAC in the US from .08 to .05. In just over 2 years, we've had the bill introduced in California and in January, the bill opens up and will hopefully pass through the Public Safety Committee.
But it's going to take a ton of work and thus, a lot of money.
To be part of making history and saving future lives, please here here to donate.
I hope you can donate, even if it's just a dollar. Because each dollar donated helps us fight drunk driving. If you can't donate even a dollar, please share this post and perhaps someone else can donate.