200 people are waiting to go veg...if you're willing to run. Or give. Or both!

[Guest guest]

Two months ago I ran the San Jose Rock 'n Roll Half Marathon, 13.1

miles. I wish you all could have been there to see me swoosh by! My

feet barely touched the ground once I crossed the starting line! I flew

through the course--gracefully weaving in and out of the pack, passing

runner after runner, smiling the entire time. When I saw the finish

line in the distance I gave myself a little push and then sailed across,

arms in the air, head held high, up front with the elite runners. *Go

vegan power!! * It was amazing!!

 

And not true. That's my fantasy version of the race, the fantasy that

kept me going through 13.1miles. I DID finish, and I finished way

faster than I ever expected, but it was more of a stumble than a breezy

run across the finish line and I never even saw the elite runners. But

it was unbelievably fun and I was disgustingly proud of myself! I was

three feet off the ground for days after the race. Not just because my

feel hurt, either, OK? It was GREAT. I got hooked and can't wait to do

it again.

 

12 weeks before the race I was running 3-4 miles max, verrrrry slowly.

I joined a running team so I could try and catch up to my mother

(running marathons in her spare time), and they were training for San

Jose. The coach, Marathon Matt <http://www.marathonmatt.com>, was

incredible. So incredible that I hope you all will join the next

training team...Team Vegan <http://www.veganhealth.org/run/home>!

 

Starting February 2, 2008, we'll start training for the Santa Cruz Half

Marathon/10k on April 13. Marathon Matt will take care of the

training, and if he got me over the finish line, he'll get you there as

well. He trains people of all ages and all exercise levels. One guy in

my last team told me on the first day, " I don't even like to DRIVE a

mile, and I'll skip grocery shopping if I can't park close to the front

door. " 12 weeks later he ran 13.1 miles. MM knows how to deal with

" bad " knees and ankles (usually just bad shoes and inadequate

stretching), how to gradually increase the training while also taking

days off to recuperate, and how to keep the team jazzed up. You can

join us once or twice a week in San Francisco, or train online wherever

you live. MM sends out weekly training e-mails so that everyone knows

what to do.

 

I paid to train for the San Jose race, but this time there is no charge

for your own professional coach. Instead, you are asked to raise money

for Vegan Outreach. Every runner who joins Team Vegan will be asking

their friends, family and co-workers to sponsor them so that Vegan

Outreach can create more vegetarians in the world. Marathon Matt sends

out fund-raising tips and ideas and it's mostly done by hitting

" forward " a lot. Easy-peasy!

 

You don't have to be a runner to join. You don't have to be veg to run,

or to donate. You just have to care about animals and have a desire to

do something.

 

$1,000 donated to Vegan Outreach equals 10,000 brochures

<http://www.veganoutreach.org/advocacy/resources.html#pamphlets>.

10,000 brochures, handed directly to interested and open-minded college

students, results in about 200 new vegetarians

<http://www.veganhealth.org/colleges/calc>! That's 350,000 animals

<http://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/transport.html> saved over 50

years. YOU could be responsible for that. If you're willing to run for

the animals and give your friends an opportunity to help you--or if

you're willing to sponsor someone on Team Vegan--you will have an

immediate and powerful impact on animal suffering.

 

The Team Vegan page has a list of Reasons to Run

<http://www.veganhealth.org/run/home#reasonsrun> and Reasons to Donate

<http://www.veganhealth.org/run/home#reasonsgive>. Check it out. See

you on February 2!

 

Alex

Official Team Vegan Chef and Cheerleader

http://www.active.com/donate/teamvegan/alexbury

 

p.s.

Please forward the Team Vegan page to anyone you know who likes to run,

who wants to get in shape in the new year, or who just wants to help

animals:

http://www.veganhealth.org/run/home

 

http://www.marathonmatt.com/

 

The best views in Santa Cruz are brought to you by running shoes!

http://www.firstwave-events.com/sc_half/