Skopje Marathon 2010

On May 9, 2010, in four hours, Mike Fritz, Jeremy Lewis, Bart Brown, Ryan Rowlands and Steve Adams-Smith ran a relay for the Roma in the Skopje Marathon. Steve, visiting from Bulgaria, stepped in for Kim Brown and Ryan and Bart covered Susan's 7 km because of a last minute bout of the flu! All five guys made really good time and everyone ran the final 250 meters smiling! A huge heartfelt "thank you" to the runners! They did fantastic! I was so proud there were tears in my eyes! Almost as good as running it myself! Well, almost! If it wasn't for them, this wouldn't have happened!

An aside: Yesterday, as I was headed to a brief meeting at Sumnal I passed a boy, 8 years old maybe, with a backpack on his back, walking with purpose out of Sumnal. After the meeting, I spied him diligently working on his homework at a plastic table outside his hut. That, my friends, is what this was all about. Thank you!

Plan C and the Relay Team members

After an MRI confirmed that I had three herniated discs in my spine, I asked all of my running friends if they would run in my place for the Roma in the Skopje Marathon May 9. Ryan Rowlands, Kim and Bart Brown, Mike and Susan Fritz and Jeremy Lewis will be running in a relay team for the Roma! Thank you! In the meantime, I guess I'm "Rehabbing for the Roma!"

Macedonia's News Coverage of Half-Marathon

Please check out the television news coverage of the event!

http://sitel.com.mk/video/makedonija/petta-donatorska-trka-na-kejot-na-vardar

Run for a Cause Half-Marathon Video

Run for a Cause Half-Marathon

On April 10, Vanessa and Cullen Hughes, Ryan Rowlands, Matt Keener, Kai Rowlands, Haley Rowlands, Faik Arif, Ersin Ali, and Sabuhan Suljo all ran for the Roma for the "Run for a Cause," 1km, 7km and half-marathon! A special thanks to Gretal Schueller and Michael Rodman for volunteering to help at the event. The runners raised thousands of denar for Sumnal. Thank you to the runners and those who supported them! Together we can all make a difference, one step at a time, one denar at a time, to get children off the streets and into school!

Video about the Roma and Sumnal

"Run for a Cause Half-Marathon"

Last week I met with Brian Richards and Igor Netkovski, two gentlemen from Integrity AO, a non-profit organization committed to, "the creation of people's integrity, which means the creation of one completely, fully, independently and healthy person," basically an organization that does good. They invited me to join in their half-marathon, "Running for a Cause," on April 10. In general, running for a cause is a new concept in Macedonia. Just last year, Macedonia had its first walk-a-thon, Go Pink, to raise money for breast cancer. "Running for a Cause," will be the first running event for charity in the country. Running for the Roma, along with several other charitable causes will be participating to promote the concept of volunteerism and activism in Macedonia. Come join us in Aerodrom on April 10 as we kick off a new era of giving in Macedonia!

Plan B

At the beginning of December, a pinched nerve in my back halted my running and then later all aerobic activity. Ibuprofen, rest and gentle stretching have lessened the daily pain, but have not eliminated it. When I did have a painless first week in February and decided to jog in place on the carpet for more than 10 minutes to test it out, I jogged myself back to December. For me, time, up to 6 months, is the solution, and then considerable strength training in my back and core. After that I might be able to get back on the track. But not in time for the marathon in May.

Luckily, I don't feel the pain while I'm running, only afterwards. I don't want to cause permanent damage, and, therefore, Plan B is to search for runners who will relay the marathon with me. I think I'll be able to run 3 to 4 miles, and hopefully, as a part of a relay team, run for the Roma.

If you are a runner and will be in Skopje April 10 or May 10 and would like to run with me, please let me know. Together, we can raise money for Sumnal and run for the Roma!