The Race Continues
A couple of years ago, Opportunity International Governor Deyl Kearin ran 250km across the Sahara Desert in the first Run4Poverty. Deyl's mission was to accomplish a harrowing mental and physical feat and in doing so, inspire people to give to others who are in much more challenging circumstances.
Well, he certainly inspired me, because less than a year later, I took off on my own ultra-marathon across the Gobi Desert in China, and Run4Poverty continued. Many of you followed our journeys and we're excited to share with you that Run4Poverty is growing!
In less than two weeks, a team of runners will run between 50km (31 miles) and 50 miles on the Pacific Crest Trail in Southern California. It's the first Run4Poverty team event and we are stoked! Not only is it exciting to see Run4Poverty grow and the number of Opportunity International clients we can impact grow with it, but Deyl and I are really excited to be running with some of our closest friends and family this time. Joining us will be Deyl's little sister Kasey Sander and her husband Skye, and my dear friends Abby and Gregg Starr. None of them have ever run an official race over the half marathon distance. Talk about a leap of faith!
That is part of what we love about the mission and ethos of Run4Poverty. We are not elite athletes. We are people who are committed to pushing our physical and mental limits to spur on others to help change the lives of people in poverty worldwide.
This team event will be specifically focused on raising funds for Opportunity International clients in the Philippines as they continue to rebuild their lives, businesses and homes from Typhoon Haiyan that devastated many lives last year. To learn more about how you can support these clients and help them recover, please visit our team page.
Visit www.run4poverty.org to learn more and join the adventure!
Vanessa Felts is an Opportunity International supporter and avid runner who lives in Santa Barbara, California.