How Running and Social Media Can Help Haiti

January 29th


Reflecting

    I arrived in Miami ready for a tropical marathon paradise.  This particular race means a lot to me.  On Sunday, I will be running to help Haiti raise money during this crisis.  This will be the first time that I'm running a marathon for charity.

Understanding

    Through diligent online research, I learned that it can be significantly cheaper to fly to Ft Lauderdale (just 25 miles north of Miami).  Through www.lastminute.com, I was able to secure a good rate to Ft. Lauderdale and through cost comparison, I determined that it was more economical to get a rental car (vice catching cabs) and a lot more practical to sleep in the car since I will be doing a lot of traveling. 

Negotiating

    I showed up at the Miami Convention Center, hoping to leverage the opportunity by meeting social media types.  Since I wasn't registered for the Social Media Conference and didn't expect to be successful in my endeavor, I was dressed in my casual dry wick tees.

    But I figured it wouldn't hurt showing up in the lobby and striking up conversations with social media experts who possess an in-depth knowledge on the subject of utilizing social media to communicate to your core audience.

Innovating

    I demoed www.runinout.blogspot.com to a woman who was very knowledgeable and extremely helpful in providing both broad-based and specific tips to further develop and market the idea.  

   And during the discussion, I realized something else also.  There are many ways social media can help with the relief efforts.  We can use Twitter, Facebook, blogs and the overall power of the network to seek volunteers, donations, raise overall awareness, inform and most importantly bring loved ones back together.

   Matador, an interactive online travel magazine, is using social media to try to get Jet Blue to sponsor a flight of volunteers to provide on the ground support.  Just by reading this post and possibly retweeting it, can help spread the word.

Navigating

    Now I am ready to show up to the Health and Fitness Expo to meet up with Kirsten and Lauren from Team World Vision in preparation for the big run on Sunday for Haiti Relief Operations. I'm thrilled to pieces to run for Haiti.

Every Mile Counts

Reflecting


As a young surface warfare officer aboard a US Navy destroyer in the mid-90's, I had made several trips to Guantanamo Bay to conduct Navy Refresher Trainer or more traditionally referred to as REFTRA.


I was in GTMO when tens of thousands of Haitian migrants resided there after they tried to flee their country after a military coup on the island ousted President Jean-Betrand Aristide.


The Clinton administration chose GTMO because it was understood that the base was not on sovereign U.S. territory, and thus the Haitians could not use the U.S. federal courts to seek relief or release by writs of habeas corpus (like the detainees in GTMO enjoy today).


Understanding


That is why the plight of Haitians means so much to me.  Ever since my early years in the Navy and I have closely followed the path of the US Navy hospital ship, USNS Comfort as she made two deployments to Haiti over the last three years.


Inspiring


Despite the grave tragedy, the Haiti people are fighters with an unshakable spirit. It's amazing that people and even babies are still surviving over a week after the quake.  They will not give in, and they are supporting each other in order to survive.


Navigating


As the USNS Comfort the 1,000 bed hospital ship got underway last Saturday, I was both elated and regretful.  I was optimistically cheerful for the medic and crew as they would be able to save lives and treat hundreds of thousands of seriously injured.  I was sad because I wanted to be on board to serve.  I had also once served aboard the Comfort; however, I never had the opportunity to serve in Haiti.


Next weekend (31 Jan), I will do my small part to support the Haiti relief effort.  I will run the Miami Marathon for Team World Vision in support of Operation Hope.  My body is still battered from the Disney Marathon last weekend.  However, this is an extremely small part to play for a larger relief effort already underway.


To support Chito's run for Operation Hope for Haiti, please click here.  Thank you

The Goofy Marathon Challenge

Jan 11th, 2009

Reflecting

    Yesterday, I experienced one of the most miserable runs this year, if not for an entire decade.  It was bone-shivering cold; it snowed, then rained giving all 20,000 plus runners a dripping wet feeling from brow to bun. C'mon, I could get this cold treatment back home in DC.

    It was the coldest Disney Marathon on record and arguably the longest cold streak in the sunshine state in a seeming eternity.

    To add frostbite to injury, I dropped and cracked my Canon video camera; my legs perpetually stayed frozen, if not cramped, and I was literally on the verge of acquiring a mild case of hypothermia, if not pneumonia.

    My bitter memories of yesterday crammed down my brain as I rammed down the snooze button not yet ready for the morning with all its searing pain ahead, but over the horizon, there would be lots to gain. Even though I knew it would hurt, I knew in a way that not completing this would be a mistake. I came to Disney to run and run I shall. 

Understanding

    As I mentioned the day before, I wanted to see how far I could push myself to reach my upper limit of physical ability.  VO2 max, endurance, heart rate, muscles and joints -- all would be seriously put to the test today.

  But the Goofy Challenge wasn't strictly physical.  It was a social economic opportunity as well.  I also wanted to capitalize on the opportune moment to meet a diverse group of people, young and old, from all walks of life and from all over the world. I wanted to meet them, see what made them tick and to be inspired by their greatness and gratitude for limit-free living.  

     And I had other personal motives.  I also wanted to use the marathon as a way to tour the theme parks, and perhaps catch a few rides (Dinosaur in Animal Kingdom, Rock and Roller Coaster in Hollywood Studios), go country hopping along the International Gateway -- In doing so, I would gain a greater appreciation for other people, their cultures, and why it is truly important to take time to smell the Glories.

Negotiating

    The decision I had to make was whether to push myself hard, or to take my time and value the nuance of the moment.

  

    As usual, I wanted to make the best of each and every moment I held a pulse.  I was firmly committed to make this experience both wholistic in events and wholesome in lessons-- so I decided to capitalize on the prime opportunity to visit each theme park that we ran through and to chat and get to know some of my fellow runners and sightseers.

Inspiring 

    I was inspired by the service and commitment for Distance 4 Dreams that each year fundraises hundreds of thousands of dollars to sponsor the wish of a child with a life-threatening disease to spend a week at Disney World.

    The wonderful young ladies who I met were specifically raising money for Paige and her family to stay at Give Kids the World Village.

   I was also inspired by Walt Disney, himself, the quasi-experimenter and quintessential entrepreneur.  He used his imagination to chase his dreams and to spread his wings.  

   What was amazing about the founder of the "Happiest Place on Earth" was that he was resourceful and clever in making the best choices despite his spartan and unstructured upbringing. 

   Another neat thing about Disney is that he did not set off on a single career.  Instead, Disney continually reinvented himself.  He started out drawing, then started making films.  Then he opened up Disneyland and started planning Disney World before his death at 65.  If something didn't work, he wouldn't mind going back to the chalk board to start all over again.

Innovating

    The "I" in RUNIN also stands for Innovating.   Cigna, who is sponsoring the Marathon events, has been experimenting with a virtual reality game designed to help treat cancer in young adults and children.

    Disney as a company is also known for its Innovation.  From its purchase of Pixar to its reinvention as a digital entertainment powerhouse, Disney has recently entered the emerging field of visualization.

   In terms of its theme parks, Disney has taken steps in taking its theme park experience to the masses by building niche resorts and hotels such as the 550-room, 15 acre hotel they are building close to "my backyard" in National Harbor, MD.  After for many years in the early 90's planning a national park near the Civil War battlegrounds in Manassas, they decided to build a hotel in PG County instead.

    This is marketing ingenuity at its best.  In today's economy, a niche resort hotel will compete for the pocketbooks of those Disney-fun travelers who want the experience but not necessarily the expense.

Navigating

So the entire experience was incredible and up lifting.  

I learned a lot from others, all perfect strangers who became priceless inspiration and indelible, incredible memory for all of us as they ran in honor of  those touched by cancer, tragedy or war or for simply for just the challenge.  Some had lost close friends.  Some had lost a family member.  Virtually everyone I ran into became lifelong friends as we ran in step to experience a miracle occur right in front of our own eyes.

    They were willing and able to beat the odds to complete a remarkable task -- The Marathons of Miracles.

    So, this weekend I experienced both the hardest and happiest runs of my life, and I'm a better man because of it.

    Can't wait till next year and especially next week, when I can register. Hopefully by then I can feel my fingers as they click against my laptop keys. 

Bitter Cold in DISNEY World

  January 8, 2009

    

   

    Reflecting 

    This was supposed to be my winter post-holiday vacation.  Having spent Christmas and New Years working from home, I was really looking forward to a long weekend in Orlando before my MBA studies started back up at GWU.  I was delighted when I was able to purchase a bib from a friend who broke her foot --not just for the marathon but also for the Disney Goofy challenge, this year being the momentous 5th anniversary.  It would be a perfect time to rest and reflect before the start of a very intense semester -- or so I hoped...

Understanding

     What an apropros name for an event that sounds honestly quite wacky the first time I heard it from Jackie (still nursing her foot) -- a half marathon on Sat, followed by a full marathon on Sunday.  At first, I wanted to figure out why I would ever want to try something like this.  "Because it's something new", I thought. But that's what my 12-year old son would say.  I'm a believer that the human body is built to run long distances -- our entire body from the shape of our feet, our Archilles tendon, the head-stabilizing ligaments in our neck and spine and even the way we breathe and dissipate heat when running have become well defined and deftly designed(1).

    Our bodies were definitely not built for Kona, but could it be that our bodies were built for the Disney Goofy Challenge?

 Negotiating

    I arose Saturday morning to temps in the mid-20's and a constant onslaught of sleet and a massive shiver that shaked vigorously like a happy dog's tail.  Thriving and running in DC all year long, I have gone face to face with the biter cold and treacherous snow before, but never dreamed of running under the same conditions in the sunshine state and never a marathon distance in the heart of winter.  This was going to be a blast alright -- a frigid Arctic Blast!

    Serious doubts ran through my head whether I should even get up at all.  But any lingering, divergent thoughts were quickly quelled by the price of my airline ticket and hotel.  Think of it this way: It's a lot cheaper to visit the parks via a marathon than to pay the price for admission.

     Disney corrals you up at the Epcot Center parking lot by 4:00'ish -- or "O-Dark Thirty" in military terms.  When we arrived, a dank frosty slush of rain, sleet and flurries blanketed the sky over the geodesic Epcot dome, creating an eerie mist -- not unusual for this time of the year, in places like Chicago or NYC, but in Orlando?

     Perhaps the most excruciating part of the race was the two plus hours we lallygaged around until the fireworks erupted the predawn sky.  It was sensational to watch, but I was more thrilled with the opportunity to start warming up my frost-chilled body.  

Inspiring 

    The first five miles was an easy stretch from the perimeter of Epcot to the Magic Kingdom.  When we entered the compound of the Magic Kingdom,  we were dazzeled by the festive welcoming.

    Greeting us to their home was Snow White, Cruella DeVille, Jimmy Crickett,  Country Bear Jamboree, and a whole host of characters.

    We strolled down Main Street USA, towards Tomorrowland, Fantasyland and through Cinderella's Castle.  

  
    We were given magnificent first-class treatment -- Not just the Disney characters, but all the volunteers were way- awesome -- and the best thing, there were plenty of potta potties with no lines.

      We left the Kingdom via Adventureland and Frontierland before exiting the park to head back towards Epcot.

Navigating

     

    

                              (Fireman running for a  5yr. girl with leukemia)    

 Over the 13.1 miles, jackets, hats, gloves, Tyvek jackets and even trash bags littered the course as runners ran in multiple layers.

   The rest of the way, was rather dull, and the sleet and rain continued to come down softly and incessantly. I drudged along, my mind calling to the finish line. Knowing I could not or rather would not stop. I believe that anything I start I must finish.

   And then, the worse part of the race was when I dropped my camera.  With the cold and ice, I heard a loud crack and then was dismayed to see that the LCD display was no longer functioning. My camera did not feel as if it was the only thing broken. As I continued the strenuous jog around the magic kingdom, I wondered about the pain tomorrow would bring. If how I felt now was any indication of tomorrow, I would truly be in for a very rough experience.

    But despite the technical difficulties, my body did not quit -- I felt relatively strong and periodically wanted to speed up to keep my body warm.  But throughout the morning, I constantly reminded myself of the big run the next day, and although I was testing out my hypothesis that the human body was built to run long distances over multiple days, I wasn't yet fully convinced of going back-to-back days. 

References

(1) Lee, Karen, "Author Believes Human Body is Built to run Long Distances without Shoes" Philadelphia Inquirer, Aug 4, 2009