Living In Faith Exchange Runners (LIFER's)
* 2008 Team: John, Steve, Chad, Tracy, Bill, Rich, Courtney, Angi, Pat, Scott, Ben, Doug, Shane (deployed)
* 2009 Team (committed): John, Steve, Chad, Rich, Courtney, Angi, Pat, Doug, Others?
* Team blog at marathon-for-life.blogspot.com.
* Team mission: God first, Defend the unborn (ProLife), Encouragement, Health!
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Hi, LIFER's Team -
With the help of our team (Body of Christ)...all but one found the starting line and all but two found the finish line of the 2008 Chicago Marathon (in top 5 marathons in the world)...but we all grew closer to Christ! This was a huge life accomplishment...all glory to God!
Most importantly, we lived our faith by being part of the solution to end abortion in America (prayer, sacrifice, action). Training for and running a marathon provides a whole year of reflection and stories to tell, especially when you run for a cause like abortion which begs for discussion in our country. Please continue to make significant sacrifices leading up to this election (prayer in front of abortion mill, bumper sticker on car, etc).
Thanks to Tracy's Mom for giving me the LIFER's banner for our 2009 marathon. What marathon are we going to run in 2009? The New York City marathon (1 Nov 2009) would be really cool, as it is the largest in the world (38,000 finishers compared to 31,000 finishers for Chicago). There is one major hitch for our team...registration is done by lottery, so we would not all make it. Granted, the training fellowship, faith journey, and cause are the main entrees and crossing the finishing line is only the dessert...but we need to eat the dessert together as a team (same marathon)!
Therefore, we need to find a different marathon, and I am open to everyone's suggestions. I have heard great things about Grandma's in Duluth, but it is in June. A Fall marathon makes more sense because training in the summer allows for longer days (early morning runs don't interfere as much with family time) and warmer weather. This why I have never trained for a Spring marathon. This may change for me in 2009 if the funding package gets approved to escort 4 cadet marathon club members to the Great Wall of China marathon (16 May). Here are some Fall marathon options (please present more):
* Black Hills (Sat, 3 Oct 09): mostly flat/downhill but at about 5000 ft, half marathon option, only about 500 runners, lower registration cost ($60), lower hotel/food costs, stay close to the race start, Sante Fe trail like surface but better, amazing scenery, 7.5 hr drive from C. Springs which allows less expensive travel (drive instead of fly) and more family support. Angi, Steve and I ran this last year. http://monumentalchallenge.com/new/
* Marine Corps Marathon (end of Oct, Washington DC): flat course, 22000 finishers last year when John and I ran it, good crowd support, interesting sites (DC monuments), well organized.
* Omaha, NE (end of Sep): 8 hr drive from C. Springs...allowing less expensive travel and more family support. Aaron Ferrie said it is a really nice marathon.
* Other options: Portland OR (early Oct), Lake Tahoe CA (late Sept), Air Force (late Sept, Dayton, OH), San Antonio TX (16 Nov).
* Please send me your top 3 preferences by Fri, 24 Oct. Do you plan on being part of the 2009 LIFER's Team?
I changed the title of our blog from Chicago Marathon for Life to just Marathon for Life until we decide on our next marathon. Let's continue to use this blog for fellowship. Please encourage others to join our team. The requirements for being a LIFER team member are: email on LIFE devotions and Marathon blogs, ProLife, and want to compete in a marathon. For the local LIFER's, how about we plan on getting together at Old Chicago's Pizza (I-25 and Woodmen Rd) at 6 PM, Sat, 22 Nov? I bet you can't guess how I came up with the meeting place!
I am truly proud to lead our team of Christ disciples who defend the defenseless unborn and celebrate God's gift of life through marathon running!
Run for ProLife,
Pat
Phil 4:13
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