Tegla Loroupe was the 1994 Keyan woman that won the New York City Marathon. She holds numerous world records and has raced throughout the world. She now heads the Tegla Loroupe Peace Foundation, which tries to bring peace through sports. Her foundation strives to be a positive light in the midst of conflict-ridden and war-torn areas of East Africa.
I was inspired to see over 20,000 runners participate in the Nike Women's Marathon this weekend in San Francisco. It raised awareness and money toward the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, this year $14 million was raised for a total of $92 million over six years. While I'm not inspired to put on running shoes, I'm not much of a runner, but it does make me think twice before saying "I can't..." because there are many others with greater challenges that have proven that "They can..." 
As I move about during my daily life, I constantly hear about the negative events of the world. However, it's stories and events of inspiration like these that remind me that there's still a lot of good in the world and there's a lot of really great people doing extraordinary things through the simplest and kindest acts.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/10/19/MN9E1A7FQE.DTL
There's always too much negative news that makes the headlines when there are a lot of good things going on. It's great to see happier, uplifting news make it out.
ReplyDeleteMarathons are tough. I've done a couple, some half-marathons, and plenty of 5 and 10k runs. Most, if not all, raise money for good causes. There are plenty of walkers too, not everyone runs. That can be a big accomplishment for some folks too.
Even the smallest efforts to do good make a difference, whatever it is. The important thing is to try.