Yellow Rose 5K

The 9th annual Yellow Rose 5K takes place next Saturday (August 11th) in Warroad. This is the race that got me started running 4 or 5 years ago.

I was hoping to set a goal of 28 minutes for this race, but I've had to back off on training the last few weeks. I still haven't recovered from the ALS race! Finally, I discovered Ibuprofin a few days ago, so I'm running again... but not very fast. I'll set my goal at 29 minutes.

Results of ALS 5K

It was hot, humid, and sunny. But it was also early - early enough to catch a fair amount of shade along the way. I was tired, but I felt I'd run a pretty good race. I was just about to complete the race. About 150 yards to go. I hit the track. All of a sudden I realize someone's trying to pass me. Nobody's going to pass me! I kick it into high gear. (I really didn't want to have to do that. I'd run a good race. I deserved to coast to the finish line.) With about 100 yards to go she pulled even with me. It was a young girl. This can't happen! There was no way I was going to let her pass me. I found another gear I didn't think I had. I gave it everything I had. (This all posed a dilemma for the spectators. Who do you cheer for? An old man who should be walking with a cane, or a young girl who'll probably run at least 200 5Ks by the time she's my age.) Well, I gave it everything I had, but she had more. She passed me with about 25 yards to go and wouldn't let up.

Here's what I look like when I'm completely exhausted:

I finished the race with a time of 29:01. Not quite as fast as I hoped, but I'll take it. Putting that into perspective - last year I ran the ALS 5K in about 30:30. Last month's 5K was a time of 30:01. I want to believe I'm on track to run the next 5K in 28 minutes.

Make a Difference for ALS

The Make a Difference for ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) Walk/Run takes place this Saturday in Roseau. Here we are right after the gun last year:

My goal for this 5K is 28 minutes.

More information here and here.

Now That's Better

Today was the Stomp Out Cancer 5K Race at the Roseau Park. The race began with a fine mist. As the race began, I was feeling much better than I felt for the 5K race a month ago.

My plan was to begin relatively slow and then see if I could pick up the pace and pass some people in the last mile. It would've been a great plan if I would've had something left to make a move in the last mile. However, things went much better than last month. I was able to trim 5 minutes off the previous time!

Mission Trip to Neillsville, Wisconsin.

Here’s the daughter of the famed runner again. J

This Sunday through Tuesday we are taking a small team (two leaders and two students) from Living Hope Ministries to Neillsville, Wisconsin.  This will be our students’ first mission trip, and for all of us it will be our first experience of the great town of Neillsville.  Why take inner-city kids to a small town in Wisconsin?

˜  To build a stronger relationship with Living Hope Church in Neillsville.  Not only does this church happen share our name, but more importantly they share our passion for sharing the gospel and meeting the needs of others.  I met them five years ago when they came to Minneapolis to help us with a Vacation Bible School through a ministry called BUMP.  The next summer, they branched out by planning a week of sports camp and doing that for us.  The past two summers, they did an exceptional job of running a week of camp for our kids at Luther Park in northern Wisconsin.  Alan, the youth director, has demonstrated a very selfless and servant-hearted attitude toward our ministry and has helped us in countless ways.  One hope on this mission trip is that we can express our gratitude and make this a two-way giving and receiving relationship as we serve this church. 

˜  We can learn from each other.  Our students have grown up in the city, surrounded not only by towering buildings and busy streets, but also by incredible diversity and considerable poverty.  They have experiences and stories that the people of Neillsville can learn from.  I also hope the students will learn a great deal from interacting with a healthy church and people from a different background.

˜  Wilderness!  Sometimes it’s good for the soul to get out of the city and experience more of God’s creation.  We’re looking forward to sleeping in a tent, hiking, and swimming.

˜  Preparation for more summer ministry.  We will have the opportunity to join the Neillsville youth for a couple of events, one of them being their mission trip meeting.  As they prepare for their trip to Minneapolis, we hope we can answer some of their questions and encourage them in the right ways.  Our girls will also be helping with the Bible clubs they are leading, so I hope they can learn some valuable lessons from this training time.

Please pray for a fruitful 3 days, for safe travels, and that God would teach each of us on this trip.  Thanks again for helping my dad raise the funds to help cover the costs of trips like this!

Here's a picture of Alan Dunham the first year he brought his group to Minneapolis (2008- also my first summer at Living Hope).  It will be fun to spend a few days with this guy!  I'll post some photos of our group after we get back.

Mission Accomplished!

I ran the final streets today. In the end it turned out to be 82.9 miles. With your help we've raised $1060.10! Thank you.

I plan to keep this blog up and running for the summer. I hope you'll come and visit often. I'll be sharing about Living Hope, 5Ks, and other things that come up.

Stomp Out Cancer 5K Walk/Run

The Border State Bank Lucky Border Stars Relay for Life team is hosting their 2nd annual Stomp Out Cancer 5k Walk/Run. The event is being held at the Roseau City Park on Saturday, June 16th in Roseau, MN. More information here.

Running By the Food

Today's run was a veritable tour of fine dining. Though tempted to stop for a bite, I kept running as I came upon the Brickhouse/Polaris Experience Center:

...I've gotta keep my eyes on the prize. It was also difficult to keep going as I passed Pizza Ranch. The Silver Dragon makes it extremely difficult. I think they purposely pump out intoxicating aromas to draw people in.

I also ran by the Polaris plant today:

At least one web site considers it to have one of the best factory tours in Minnesota. I took the tour a couple years ago and have to agree that it was a good experience.

Near the end of my run today was "The Heritage of This Place", a sculpture by artist/metalsmith Sue Suess:

Barring injury, I should be able to complete my goal of running every street during the next week or two. My next few runs are going to have to be my longest - probably about five miles each.

Color Run

My niece (in the background) was part of a 'Color Run' in Seattle last weekend. She said it 'was a blast'. Perhaps we should try this in Roseau sometime... (No, I don't know how they keep the colored dust out of their eyes and lungs.) More pictures here.

Bible Camp in Wisconsin

As the bus bumped along across the Minnesota-Wisconsin border, I listened to the 4^th grader who shared my seat.  “I’ve never been to Wisconsin before,” she said with wide eyes.  She paused and thought for a while.  “I've never been star-gazing before.”  Another pause.   “I've never swam in a lake before.  I've never been in a boat before.  I've never sat around a campfire before.”  I smiled, excited about the experience she was about to have at her first time at camp.  Looking back at the twenty-some other kids on the bus, I wondered how many of them were about to see and experience God’s creation in ways they never had before.  I also prayed that as they got away from their everyday life in the city—and as many of them left difficult home situations behind—they would encounter God in a new way.

This June will mark our third summer of taking a busload of students from Northeast Minneapolis to a camp 2 hours away near Danbury, WI.  This has been a grand project, involving a partnership between Living Hope Ministries and some servant-hearted youth groups from Wisconsin.  For me, a staff member of Living Hope, it is a great blessing to spend the week praying for the students, building relationships, and helping out where needed while trained high school students serve as counselors and program staff.  The kids have a blast and build memories that I hear about all year long.  More importantly, they get away from the stresses and distractions of home, giving us wonderful opportunities to share about Jesus to listening ears. 

One unique thing about this camp is that all of the kids come from the same place.  They build relationships that continue to build when they return home, and they are able to hold each other accountable to commitments they make at camp.  Our vision for this camp is that the spiritual growth and relationships that occur there will continue to have an effect in Minneapolis as we seek to build a strong Christian community and see lives transformed.

This summer, some of the funds from this fundraiser will supplement the generous funds of our partners in ministry from Merrill Bible church in Wisconsin.  Because of the generosity of so many, we will be able to charge a very low registration fee for the campers, many of whom come from low-income families.  We will also be able to offer a pay-what-you-can-afford policy to those who cannot manage the $25 cost. 

We will be taking a group of 2nd-8th graders to camp on June 19-22.  Please pray for the students and adults who are preparing to lead the camp, and pray that God will lead many students to attend and encounter Him there.

East Side of River: Conquered

Today I decided to go back and finish off the remaining little streets left on the east side of the Roseau River. Now the focus is on the west side. The last few days I've been running by the storied Roseau Memorial Arena:

... and the Roseau Fair Grounds, home to one of the best county fairs in the state:

Needless to say, I am overwhelmed by donations and pledges that are coming in. It's getting into serious money - very encouraging.

May Walk/Run a Success

It was a great day for a race. The weather was perfect. 63 runners and dozens of walkers showed up. Here we are at the opening gun siren. (I'm the one with the gray hair.):

Duane Mast was the winner at just over 20 minutes:

Young Ellie Nelson was first among the women and fourth overall. She flew over the finish line in about 23 minutes:

I came plodding in at 35:15:

Yes, I was every bit as tired as I look - even more. My time was much worse than expected... On the bright side, there's much room for improvement. Stay tuned.



5K Coming Up

Thanks for all the support and encouragement the last couple days. It's fun to see this thing taking off.

For those of you in Roseau, the 9th annual May Walk/Run is coming up this weekend. All proceeds go to the fight against diabetes. More information here. I hope you can join us.

Here I am trying to finish strong in the rain last year:

It's Time to Start a Blog...

I started running a few days ago. Now it's time to start a blog. With this blog I will show daily progress on my goal of running every street of Roseau. I'll also keep you updated on pledges that come in. Finally, I'll let you know more about where your donations will be going, Living Hope Ministries, the camp kids will be going to, the mission trip that's planned, etc.

I hope you'll come and visit often and spur me on with your comments.