L.A. is 2 Weeks Away

Happy Campers! I run for their future!

5.5 miles, 1 hour, 17 minutes
Gym workout
4.9 miles, 1 hour, 3 minutes
Gym workout
5.2 miles, 1 hour 7 minutes
Lawn mowing
12.1 miles, 3 hours 23 minutes
239 pounds

I will run the Waddell and Reed Kansas City half marathon October 16. Hopefully, my grand-daughter Ava will join me on the last half mile and we will cross the finish line together. It would give this ole' grandpa a real thrill to share such a moment with such a precious, beautiful young one!

More importantly, my son Kyle has agreed to run the L.A. Rock N' Roll Half Marathon with me the next weekend--October 24. Zac Mac will also be joining with us. Together, we are running to support Outreach International in ending poverty one child, one family, one village at a time. The L.A. Community of Christ youth have been challenged by Kyle and Zac to step up with their family and friends support. They are invited to give to Outreach International and support Kyle and Zac in finishing the race. Ways to support include:
1. Pledge $1.00-10.00 for each mile completed by Kyle and/or Zac. (13.1 miles total).
2. Go to Outreach-International.org website and make a gift.
3. Run the race with Zac and Kyle.
4. Buy a run4liferun4love T-Shirt (all proceeds go to Outreach!)
5. Buy the t-shirt, wear it to the race, and cheer Kyle and Zac along the way.
6. Tell your friends and family and encourage them to do any and/or all of the above!
7. Find out more about poverty and how you can help end it in our lifetime. Read some of my blog entries. Check out the Outreach website.

The Waddle becomes a Hobble

3.5 miles, 46 minutes
6.7 miles 1 hour, 48 minutes
Cutting down a tree and stacking wood
Trimming trees and clearing brush
mowing lawn


What a terrible week! On my second run I developed blisters on the toes. First time ever for having this happen. Same shoes, same socks, same pavement. Why now? What caused this hiccup? The dang things were huge and on every toe. They would not go away. Walking was a pain in the ---. So, I changed the workout routine and did a little manual labor for Walnut Gardens' Congregation. On my second cut in felling a tree, my back twisted north while the rest of my body was bending south. Ouch!  Now, I admit my diet is not watched as closely as it should be, but I do seem to discover new foods that seem to set off the GERDS all too often. So by Thursday night, I couldn't sleep laying down because of the GERDS effect, and I couldn't sleep sitting up, because my back was screaming. All three impaired any attempt to run out the door for a quick one. That left mowing the lawn as an option for a little exercise. Mowing the lawn was like harnessing a dust storm. So, the allergies have kicked in with a vengeance. 


While I do like whining about life's little inconveniences, poverty demoralizes and puts others at risk far beyond a little back pain. Lack of dignity, little confidence and no belief in their own abilities are the most debilitating aspects of poverty, creating hopelessness, isolation and resignation. These blisters don't heal as easily as mine. Outreach International brings dignity to individuals by helping them become self-sufficient through education, healthcare and livelihood, building stronger families as a result. Outreach International brings people together to share their concerns with others, to find hope and build confidence.

Ruth Humbert was an RN from the Community of Christ Health Ministries Association (HMA) who backpacked into Guatemala’s isolated mountain villages to provide health care for isolated families. Ruth and other nurses set up 10 traveling clinics in the mountain villages, each seeing 200 patients, and encouraging patients to solve lifestyle problems that impacted their health. As a result, people replaced smoky wood stoves with new ones that were vented to the outside, reducing respiratory distress. They obtained clean water filters and grew their own vegetables. Outreach International empowers people in Sustainable Good because it’s the good that’s energized in the people themselves. Now 2000 patients a month have access to preventative health care from 10 clinics. Join me in running to the end poverty one blister, one backache, one runny nose at a time!

I love technology...when it works!

Grandson Elliott knows how to use every app on my phone!

4.5 miles, 61 minutes
5.2 miles, 1 hour, 22 minutes
24Hr Fitness workout with 20 min cross trainer 48 minutes
mowed lawn
7.9 mile long run,  2 hours, 5 min.


Got a new iPhone. It has taken over my life. So many apps... so little time. I can wear this thing on my belt and with the ipod app listen to my running playlist, spend face to face time with my grand-daughter Ava, and with RunKeeper app, keep track of my distance, time, speed, etc. But then, about an hour into the run, the playlist begins erratically skipping and jumping to new songs every few seconds. Next, the earplugs would cut in and out--finally they would not work if plugged in, but iphone speaker would go silent when the plugs were removed. Last, the RunKeeper would pause whenever winded, so I would have activities lasting 2 min. 34 sec. and lose stats on an hours worth of run. A trip to the Apple store resulted in a new iphone! Not Expected! Yea!

While many of us in the U.S. are blessed with the affluence to use sophisticated apps, for many (2.4 billion) people in our world, the apps are biomass fuel (primarily wood or dung) for cooking and heat. The environmental cost is enormous, but the human toll is even greater. The World Health Organization estimates that 1.6 million people die each year from indoor air pollution – that’s one person every 20 seconds. According to Outreach International, nearly half the world’s population use wood, coal or dung to fuel their stoves and heat their homes. The smoke from open fires and stoves carries concentrated particulates of black carbon deep into the lungs of adults and children alike, ultimately causing chronic respiratory distress, lung cancer, pneumonia, and – too often – death. 

With the help of Outreach International, however, many communities are learning about a campaign for clean cooking energy and raised funds to install cleaner Malena stoves. These improved stoves are vented, use less fuel, and reduce smoke and carbon monoxide emissions. This app is inexpensive and effective. Let’s work to end poverty one child, one family, one village at a time by actively supporting the creation, production and distribution of apps for better living!