Red, White and BOOM!

The June issue of Fitness Magazine is out on newsstands! Kristine and I are so grateful to Fitness for giving a shout out to our blog and our efforts to raise money for our favorite charities through running.

If you haven't seen the article, go buy the issue! And if you are a Fitness reader, welcome to our blog!

Now it's time to get a new race on the calendar. And what better state to complete than my new adopted state, Minnesota! I'm going to join in with a couple of new friends, Melissa and Beth, to run the Red, White & Boom! Half Marathon. Appropriately named, the Red, White & Boom! will take place on July 4th.

The course winds first through the part of Minneapolis that sits on the east side of the Mississippi River, areas known as St Anthony Main and the East Bank. When I moved here, I was under the impression that Minneapolis was located only on the west side of the Mississippi River and that the east side of the river was the start of St Paul. I'm glad to learn I was wrong - with historical buildings, cobble stone streets and a lovely park alongside the Mississippi River, St Anthony Main is one of the most charming spots in Minneapolis that I've discovered so far! After running most of the 13.1 miles to the east of the river, the race course then crosses to the west side of the river to finish up in the Warehouse District of downtown Minneapolis, near the Stone Arch Bridge.

Midwesterners, why don't you join in the fun? If you aren't quite ready for 13.1 miles, the Red, White & Boom! allows runners to run in teams of 2, 5, or 10, so grab some friends and share the fun together!

As always, I'm running to support two charities that are near and dear to my heart. The first is the American Cancer Society. I am supporting ACS in honor of and in memory of my Aunt Susie, who lost her battle with breast cancer last year. For nine years, despite the ups and downs in her health because of her disease, her spirits always remained upbeat. She was always smiling and always willing to be a shoulder and an ear for anyone she met who was also battling cancer. She wasn't just my Aunt Susie; she was everyone's Aunt Susie. And I can think of no better way to honor her than to continue what she started in raising funds for American Cancer Society so that we can eventually live in a world where cancer is 100% beatable. I hope you'll consider making a donation, using the link above, in her honor!

Aunt Susie and I, above right, at the 2010 ACS Relay For Life at Citi Field. Aunt Susie was the featured speaker at the Closing Ceremony!

My second charity is Girls on the Run. As a GOTR coach for two years in Harlem, New York City, I saw firsthand the significant impact the GOTR curriculum had on the girls who participated in the program. GOTR is a 12-week program that teaches girls ages 8 - 13 healthy habits, teamwork and goal-setting and -achieving techniques while training for a 5K fun run. The program helps girls overcome the challenges and peer pressures that they face by focusing them on healthy activities that develop their self-confidence. This is important for all girls, but especially for girls in major cities, like NYC, where the peer pressures they face include the pressure to engage in sex or drug use. GOTR gives them the confidence to "just say no" and a safe place to ask questions or turn for support. You can read about some of my favorite GOTR experiences here, here, here and here. If you'd like to support GOTR with a donation, you can do so with the link above!

A collage, left, of photos from the Spring 2010 GOTR 5K Fun Run!

I hope to see you all out on the road sometime!